PURCHASE, N.Y.—Kaitlyn Dougherty crossed the 1,000 career point milestone with a mid-range jump shot in the first half of Eastern University Women's Basketball's 84-63 win at Manhattanville College on Saturday.
Dougherty, a senior guard from Exton, Pa. (Downingtown East), joined exclusive company, becoming only the 13th player in Eastern Women's Basketball history to reach that mark. Dougherty entered Saturday's game needing eight points to reach the mark. She finished with 13 points.
Beginning with two free throws five minutes into the game, Dougherty chipped away at the mark. She had a layup four minutes later and then drew a successful and-one in the paint with 9:45 left in the half to put her on the cusp of the benchmark. Finally with 1:07 left in the half, Dougherty joined the 1,000-point club. Taylor Price brought the ball up the wing and found Dougherty open at the free-throw line. Dougherty, who favors the mid-range shot, knocked it down with ease.
Meghan Nowak, fellow member of the 1,000-point club, dominated in the paint, scoring 29 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in 29 minutes. Nowak seemed unstoppable once she turned and went to the hoop, shooting 10-for-15 (66.7 percent). She also went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. Nowak is four points away from tying Tracy Spencer (1,811 points) for second all-time in scoring at Eastern.
Emily Lavin added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and denied five Manhattanville field goal attempts. Lavin's recorded 75 blocks this season.
Gina DiDomenico added 10 points, and Kaleigh Boreman added eight.
For the Valiants, Bri Pabon had a team-high 21 points on 6-of-22 shooting (27.3 percent).
The Eagles took a 46-33 lead into the locker room after leading for the final 15 minutes of the first half. The Eagles lead continued to grow in the second half as they shot 48.1 percent from the floor and held the Valiants to 27.3 percent in the period. A layup by Nowak with five minutes left ended her afternoon and gave Eastern its largest lead, 28 points.
While the Eagles won by an overwhelming majority against the 10-13 (1-11 Freedom) Valiants, the Eagles did commit 22 turnovers, a figure they'll have to shrink down the stretch.
No. 24 Eastern (19-4, 11-1 Freedom) has won its ninth straight game. The Eagles host Misericordia on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. and will recognize seniors Meghan Nowak, Kaitlyn Dougherty, Kaleigh Boreman and Gina DiDomenico.
Box Score
Video of Dougherty reaching 1,000
