Sachem East made a habit of winning when Kristen Doherty was leading the Arrows, even going as far as Glens Falls to capture a state title. She helped build a winning culture that still exists today in Farmingville.
Back on Long Island for the first time in four years, Doherty is still winning. Only now she’s a senior captain for the Boston College women’s basketball team. The Eagles beat Hofstra, 80-63, Tuesday night at Mack Sports Complex. Doherty had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. She was 3-for-12 shooting from the field.
Her evolution from high-scoring high school phenom to mature and seasoned college veteran is complete. She says all the right things, but more importantly is a shining example of doing all the little things that matter when it counts most. Her ability to read another team’s offensive sets, her dominant presence under the basket, her passing ability is superior and her leadership skills are top notch at this point.
“In high school the level was different and I could score 22 points a night, but now I realize there is a lot more to basketball,” she said. “I think I’ve stepped up, especially being a senior and a captain. This team needs me, if we’re going to win, in a lot of different ways. It’s not all about what’s on the stats sheet or how much you score. I genuinely take pride in everything, contributing anyway I can; defense, offense, assists. I’ve tried my best to make myself a more well-rounded, diverse player.”
Heading into the contest she needed 28 points to reach 1,000 for her career, but fell short by 18. When she hits it, she will be the 21st woman in Boston College history to reach the points plateau and with 499 career rebounds, eventually will become the seventh woman to reach the 1,000 points-600 rebounds club.
Sachem East’s all-time leading scorer, Doherty has started 91 of 93 games in Boston. Once averaging 27 points, 5.6 steals and 3.8 rebounds per game in high school as a senior, she is averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the collegiate level.
The next logical step is for her to play professionally after graduating, but she isn’t sure about her next steps. She said she’ll take a couple of weeks to recuperate after the season and assess her future.
“I’m not canceling it out,” said Doherty, “My body feels like it’s older than I am. I’ll let the season play out first, but I’m not looking past it.”
A thin crowd was bolstered by dozens of supporters in attendance to see Doherty, who hasn’t played in New York since graduating. The closest was Rutger’s University in New Jersey. She said more family and friends happened to be in town because her grand grandfather passed away this week. At 100 years old, she said he was her biggest fan.
“I had a lot of family come out to support me, friends I haven’t seen in four years,” she said. “It was nice to come back and see everybody again. It was a bigger crowd than I expected. We got the win, which is what I really cared about.”
And Doherty keeps on winning.
-Words/photos by Chris R. Vaccaro