Katie Doherty and Kathleen Everson have been playing basketball together since second grade so it’s only fitting they celebrated one of the most exciting moments in their careers together as they inked their National Letters of Intent to play college basketball.
Doherty will play at The College of Holy Cross, while Everson will suit up at Bryant University. They were joined by their families and coaches for a signing ceremony at Sachem High School East on Thursday afternoon.
“We’re been through so much together,” said Doherty, who is currently playing field hockey in the fall season and headed to the state tournament this weekend. “It’s cool to see that all the hard work we’ve put in together has paid off. I’m excited to see how we’ll both do.”
Ironically Bryant and Holy Cross, roughly 40 minutes apart, play one another in home-and-home conference games every season, so the Doherty-Everson Classic is inevitable starting in the fall of 2014.
Everson, who was also considering Villanova, Lehigh, St. Francis (Brooklyn) and some other schools, fell in love with Bryant’s campus and had a positive experience with the coaches and players.
“It was a perfect fit overall academically and for basketball,” said Everson, whose father Chuck played hoops at Villanova, and brother C.J. currently plays football at Buffalo State.
Bryant was 12-18 last season competing in the Northeast Conference, losing in the conference quarterfinals.
Holy Cross had a similar impact on Doherty, who was also considering Fairfield, Fordham, Lehigh, and Quinnipiac.
“It was a gut feeling all along,” she said. “After I spent time with the team I realized they were girls like me who I could fit in with. It’s the right fit.”
Holy Cross, who competes in the Patriot League, went 18-14 and lost in the conference championship to Navy last season.
Heading into the winter season, now has little pressure aside from winning another county, Long Island or state title, of course.
“I verbally committed in May, so I played this whole summer stress free,” said Everson. “After officially signing I’m looking forward to my senior year and to just have fun.”
“We’ve been so successful in the past and now that we’re seniors we want to go out with a bang,” added Doherty. “We’re going to be more prepared then ever. We’ll go out every game and play as hard as we can and hopefully win.”
Both girls played their AAU ball for the Long Island Lightening under coach Rich Slater, who attended the Signing Day event along with Sachem East head coach Matt Brisson and assistant Brett Lawrence.
Sachem East will have another signing event with additional athletes on Monday afternoon as well.
PHOTOS: See more images from the Signing Day event
RELATED: Official Sachem Report College Commitment List
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro