Keri gives her dad payback.

PositionSports

After helping lead her Westfield State team to a victory over Salem State last Tuesday, Keri Doldoorian told her dad, Sutton High girls' basketball coach John Doldoorian Jr., that she wouldn't be able to make it to his game the next night when he went for career victory No. 400.

It was a fib. She wanted to surprise him.

And so she did, showing up at the Burncoat High gym and waving a sign that said, "No. 1 Coach on the Court, No. 1 Dad in My Heart.'' Sutton beat Burncoat, 63-28, for Doldoorian's milestone and Keri, who was part of 43 of those wins, was thrilled to be able to share in the special moment.

"He teared up a little bit. We both did -- I'm not going to lie,'' Keri said. "It was a huge accomplishment for him.''

Doldoorian, who earned most of the wins at Oxford High, took over the Sutton program in 2010 to have the chance to coach Keri her last two years of high school. Together, they won back-to-back Central Mass. Division 3 titles.

Keri, a sophomore at Westfield State, is now putting her mark on the Owls' program.

She was the 2012-13 MASCAC Rookie of the Year and is having a solid second season, averaging 10.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. At 13-10 (6-4) and with two regular-season games remaining, the Owls have just about wrapped up a spot in the MASCAC playoffs. Last year, Westfield State advanced to the conference final, falling to Bridgewater State.

Keri is coming off a season-high 20-point performance in a win over Worcester State last Saturday.

Keri was a two-time Hometeam Super Team selection and scored close to 1,200 points during her high school career. She said her game is continuing to evolve at the college level. She has developed more driving skills and her defense also has improved. She turned in a terrific defensive performance against Worcester State in last year's MASCAC semifinals.

She was named her team's MVP as a freshman.

"In the beginning, it was kind of hard coming in as a freshman because you're not sure if it's where you belong or not, but throughout the year you start to get your confidence up a little bit more, a little bit more every game,'' she said. "And when I was rookie of the year and MVP of my team, it really built my confidence up to know that the collegiate level is really where I'm supposed to be and this is the right place.''

Keri's academic performance has been equally impressive.

A liberal studies major (with concentrations in movement science, business and Spanish), she has made the Dean's List...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT