Doherty Leads East Girls Basketball to Finals

It might sound redundant, but Kristen Doherty did it again for Sachem East.

The Boston College-bound senior added to her career point totals (2,226) with a 31-point, 12-steal, 8-rebound performance in East's 57-48 win over Mount Vernon in the Class AA New York State semifinals Friday night at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.

East (21-3) will play Clifton Park Shenendehowa in the New York State title game Saturday at 8:45 p.m.

Foul trouble seemed to be a major theme for East with a handful of players recording three fouls. The team was handcuffed at times, according to head coach Matt Brisson.

"And because of that we weren't able to get up and put a lot of pressure on like we like to do," Brisson said via cell phone. "The game slowed down into a half-court slug fest."

East took a 39-33 lead in to the fourth quarter, but Mount Vernon tied the score at 42. Doherty took charge defensively and helped East go on a 15-5 run.

Doherty, who is now the third all-time leading scorer in Suffolk County history and eighth all-time on Long Island, was 0-for-7 from three-point range, but did score 23 second-half points.

Stephanie Burrows had 12 rebounds, and Megan Doherty and Caitlin Hopkins each scored 12 points. West Virginia-bound Taylor Palmer recorded 22 points for Mount Vernon, who finished the year 21-4. 

Shenendehowa runs a tight ship and has a balanced roster, but Brisson is confident that he has the best player on the floor in Doherty, which means East will dictate the game.

"She's explosive enough to take over a game," he said. "When push came to shove, they had no answers for Kristen tonight. Tomorrow they're going to have to adjust to compensate for her. It'll be a clash in styles. They won't want to go as fast  as we'll like to go."

This is not unchartered waters for Sachem, who won girl's state titles in 1994-95 and 1983-84, but it is new for Sachem East, which has only existed for six years.

Michael Feldstein contributed to this story.