Erin Fahy
Sport: Basketball
School: Cresskill
Class: Senior. Age: 18
Accomplishment: Fahy powered the Cougars to Bergen County Tournament upsets of Tenafly and No. 2 seed Immaculate Heart, averaging 24.5 points and 14.5 rebounds and making 70 percent of her free throws (16-for-23).
Story by Greg Tartaglia / NorthJersey.com
Erin Fahy plucked the basketball out of midair, dribbled twice and heard the final buzzer sound.
After that, things became a bit of a blur.
The senior forward led Cresskill to one of the biggest upsets ever in the 49-season history of the Bergen County girls basketball tournament as the No. 18 seed Cougars knocked off No. 2 Immaculate Heart, 46-45, in Saturday’s Round of 16.
“We were all just so proud of each other, and we were just talking about how we definitely made history, no matter what,” Fahy said of the postgame jubilation.
Two days later, Cresskill faced division rival Emerson.
“The assistant coach of the Emerson team came up to me after the game and congratulated us on our win against IHA,” Fahy said. “She said that it went to show great things for our team and even our Group 1 league.
“I was also at our boys game [Monday] night, and a bunch of people came up to me and congratulated me and my teammates on our win. It made headlines everywhere that day, because no one would have expected that to happen.”
The possible exception may be devotees of Cresskill history. They may recall the team being seeded 17th in the 1999 Bergen girls tournament and knocking off No. 1 Ridgewood to reach the quarterfinals.
That was the last time the Cougars had advanced that far until this year. After falling in their 2023 county opener, they moved into the Bergen Invitational Tournament and rallied to win that bracket.
Technically speaking, Fahy and friends lost their chance to defend their BIT crown upon upending Tenafly in Thursday’s championship-bracket opener. Given Saturday’s outcome, they couldn’t be happier.
Fahy posted her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds against IHA. Her team jumped out to an early 15-5 lead before the four-time county runners-up closed the gap and pulled even in the second half.
“They kept closing in on us, of course, because they’re a good team, and they know how to close a lead,” the 5-foot-10 forward said. “I think they had the lead one time in the game for about two minutes or so.”
In the final 10 seconds of a 45-all game, sophomore Charley Quinn was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws. Senior Maddie Morgan blocked Immaculate Heart’s last-second shot, which Fahy rebounded.
Fahy, Morgan, Julia Hasenstab and Sophia Doto all are four-year varsity letter-winners. “We’ve all been playing together since third grade,” Fahy said. “I started playing basketball probably in first grade, but it was just with the little rec teams in town.”
She’s much more serious about the game now, playing for 15th-year coach Mike McCourt.
“He’s all about working hard in practice, and that wins you games,” Fahy said. “So, our practices are definitely no joke. They’re tough. If we have a game the next day, if we have game in a week, they’re always tough, and he always pushes us to be better.”
The Cougars’ county journey continues against No. 7 Old Tappan in this weekend’s quarterfinals. They last reached the semifinals in 1991 – when they defeated IHA in the Round of 16, albeit as a higher seed.
Cresskill came within a point of upsetting Old Tappan in the 2019 tournament, so there shouldn’t be any “sneaking up” on anybody moving forward. Especially since Fahy is familiar with the Golden Knights’ Giordano twins, Layla and Maya.
“Me and Sophia Doto grew up playing AAU with them, and we’re very good friends,” Fahy said. “So, it’s definitely going to be a fun game.”
