CRESSKILL – Mike McCourt needed a point guard.
The Cresskill girls basketball coach knew Erin McQuillen could handle the ball well. She already possessed plenty of talent. There still was potential for more. So McCourt called on the then-freshman to fill the void.
Yet he needed her to play like a senior.
“Anything that I demanded of her, she didn’t take it personally,” McCourt said. “She just worked on her game, worked on her game, and got better at it.”
Two years later, McQuillen is the Cougars’ leading scorer, averaging 22.2 points per game. She’s a threat at both ends of the floor. Quiet and reserved off the court, she’s tough, fearless and fiercely competitive on it. The 5-foot-8 junior is carving out a legacy at Cresskill, on her way to becoming one of the program’s best.
McQuillen, who plays both point guard and shooting guard, brings so many components to the court. She can shoot from long distance. She can attack the rim. She has excellent court vision.
Her evolution into such a dynamic player accelerated when she was a freshman.
McCourt said he was demanding when it came to taking care of the basketball, handling pressure and picking the right time to shoot. He also wanted her to become a threat driving to the basket, something she was somewhat hesitant to do early on.
“He did demand a lot from me,” said McQuillen, who’s averaging 5.9 rebounds per game. “He wanted me to play stronger and tougher. It definitely made me a much more aggressive player now.”
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