By Andy Loigu

One of the participants in this year’s “March Madness,” in the NCAA Division One women’s college basketball tournament, is a young woman who has been an Allamuchy resident since Kindergarten.

Breanna Cavanaugh was the season’s scoring leader for Atlantic 10 Conference champion Fordham, which lost in the first round to Syracuse of the Atlantic Coast Conference last week.

In addition to being a standout performer on the basketball court, who has received nationwide attention ever since she led Blair Academy to four consecutive Middle Atlantic Prep League championships, she is also known for being respectful and kind to fans and media. Kind people often are those who have been mistreated in some terrible way and do not wish others to suffer the same misfortune.

Such is the story of her young life, which she shares in an online blog. She has described hardships experienced as a foster child. After being adopted by Dan and Bernadette Cavanaugh, she was provided an environment where she could grow and fulfill her potential. Her early childhood story is eye-opening and reveals issues regarding the treatment of youth in the foster care system. I had the pleasure of meeting her, along with her adoptive parents, upon presenting her the Warren Reporter’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year Award for 2015. She would make an interesting and thought-provoking guest on a television program such as Today on NBC or Good Morning America on ABC.

Basketball, when played at a highly competitive and skilled level, requires hours of rigorous training, which can be exceedingly tiring. However, Breanna still finds the time and abundant energy to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, and youth basketball programs throughout the Tri-State area.

Before becoming a star player at Blair, she was a student at Good Shepherd Christian Academy in Washington through the primary grades.

At Blair, she developed multiple offensive and defensive skills. She produced big numbers in rebounding, assists, and steals, on the way to compiling over 1,000 points as the team’s scoring leader. Most importantly, she brought to the team the intangibles and basketball IQ which brought out the best in her teammates and made the Buccaneers a winner (63-8 in the games she started) that played well together. She was one of six Jersey girls nominated for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American team and she participated in several top level off-season programs. 

At Blair, she joined the Blair Leadership Council, and spoke to students about never giving in to peer pressure, holding true to appropriate values and making the right life choices. From her platform as a basketball all-star, she wanted to lead impressionable young people down a path that will keep them out of trouble and lead them to become the best people they can be.  

She was recruited by Rutgers, Syracuse, Kentucky, Louisville, and Maryland, but chose to go to the University of California on the west coast, explaining to me that the Cal Bears’ offensive system and the fast tempo of the whole Pac 12 league best suited her style of play. She never got to use her talents there, however, as she missed the season due to an injury. She later signed to play at Rutgers, but had to sit out a season due to NCAA transfer rules. One thing led to another and she eventually found her basketball home at Fordham.

The Rams are happy she came on board. She’s been their leading scorer for two straight seasons and earned first team All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors this year as a sophomore guard, basketball eligibility wise. In the Atlantic 10 title game, which punched their ticket to the Big Dance, Breanna led the Rams with 22 points in a lopsided win over Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Surely, she will keep working out and maintain her enthusiasm, as she is eager to return next year, to help her team keep dancing a few rounds longer.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.