Trust key for Pascack Hills by Chris Iseman of The Record
MONTVALE – The one word seemingly changed everything.
Toward the end of last season, Pascack Hills adopted ‘Trust’ as its team motto. The Cowgirls were routinely reminded to carry that philosophy onto the court, believing each player on the floor would do her job. Results followed, as Pascack Hills pulled off two upset victories during a run in the state tournament.
So when the Cowgirls returned this season – including all five of last year’s starters – that trust had already been developed.
“It’s amazing what that one little word will do to bring a whole team together,” coach Scott Ernest said.
Victories again have followed.
Pascack Hills is 5-1, thriving with a balanced offense, strong defense and perhaps most importantly, chemistry on the court. Playing in the highly competitive Big North Patriot Division, the senior-laden Cowgirls are determined to have a special season.
“We just went into the season saying, ‘This is our year. This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to work hard,’” senior point guard Allison Ernest said. “Every day we come out here and work as hard as we can.”
The Cowgirls knew they had the pieces in place to be a strong team. They saw that last season. They went into the North 1, Group 2 tournament seeded No. 12, but defeated No. 5 Pequannock in the first round and No. 4 NV/Demarest in the quarterfinals.
Pascack Hills lost to top-seeded High Point, the eventual sectional champion, in the semifinals.
“We still talk about that state run. It was insane,” Allison Ernest said. “It just felt so good that it was finally coming together.”
The Cowgirls picked up this season where they left off, earning victories against tough opponents along the way.
They defeated River Dell in their season opener, beat New Milford – one of the NJIC’s strongest teams – and then defeated Ridgefield Park on Tuesday. They didn’t suffer their first loss until falling to undefeated Westwood on Wednesday.
How Pascack Hills has gotten here is clear.
The Cowgirls have a stellar center in sophomore Erin Hedrick, who was a first-team all-division player last season. Hedrick started the season strong with a double-double against River Dell, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
But with so much success, she’s drawing ample attention from defenses.
“She’s not scoring like she was last year because they’ve really tightened the clamps on her. But she’s such a great kid, she doesn’t care,” Scott Ernest said. “She’s still working the boards and doing all that other stuff. The scoring will come when they realize, ‘We can’t focus totally on her. We’re going to have to start expanding again.’”
Defenses collapsing on Hedrick is opening up opportunities for the rest of Pascack Hills’ offense.
Senior guards Amanda O’Brien and Caitlin Ernest are excellent from the perimeter, while Allison Ernest and senior forward Erica Butler can knock down jump shots or drive to the basket for layups.
But the Cowgirls did lose a key player after senior forward Stephanie Samani suffered a concussion against Ridgefield Park.
Samani had been Pascack Hills’ sparkplug.
“She’s the kind of kid that what she does doesn’t end up in the scorebook,” Scott Ernest said. “She’s the kid that gets a deflection. She’s the kid that gets up, jumps and distracts. She runs a kid down and traps her. She does all those things for us.”
Pascack Hills has to find a way to replace her on the court. But the Cowgirls will trust whoever steps into that role.
They wouldn’t have it any other way.
“They play so well together right now and they’re there for each other,” Scott Ernest said.