Dorsey sinks Hens

The women's basketball team looked primed to suffer the same fate that the men's team had a night earlier - losing at home to a school from a mid-major conference.

But Kindyll Dorsey would have none of it.

The Eagles' senior co-captain played all 40 minutes and finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists to lead Boston College (2-0) to a hard-fought 68-60 win over Delaware (1-1) at Conte Forum Tuesday night.

It looked grim early for the home team when the Blue Hens took a quick 7-0 lead in the first two minutes, but Dorsey did not allow that to stand for long. The New Hampshire native led BC on a 14-6 run over the next six minutes to give the Eagles a lead that they would not relinquish. Over that stretch, Dorsey scored or assisted on all of BC's points, including two of her five three-pointers.

"We've just got to get in a rhythm and settle down. I'm pleased we kept our composure," said BC head coach Cathy Inglese of her team's slow start.

The BC defense held the Fighting Blue Hens down for the rest of the first half, giving up just 25 points for the half on 33 percent shooting. Delaware looked confused at times due to BC's ability to shut down Tyresa Smith.

Smith, the Hens' leading scorer who was coming off a 27-point performance in a win over Villanova, was held to just four points in the first half on two-of-nine shooting. She finished with 10 points and eight rebounds but also seven turnovers.

"I thought we did a really good job on her. We really keyed on her, denied her the ball," said Inglese.

In the second half, Delaware once again started strong, cutting BC's six-point halftime lead down to two in a minute. The lead was still just two when Dorsey put her stamp on the Eagles offense yet again.

She hit a jump shot that doubled the margin and then made two nice passes for assists on consecutive layups to push the lead up to eight with 14 minutes to go.

It was this kind of passing that made the difference for BC. Dorsey may have started it in the first half, but soon all the Eagles were spreading the wealth.

"The thing I'm most happy about is that out of 26 made baskets, we had 23 assists," said Inglese.

Senior point guard Sarah Marshall, not surprisingly, once again led BC in this category, racking up nine assists against just two turnovers.

What was a surprise was senior forward Kathrin Ress (16 points) notching five assists, tying a career high.

Of Ress' five assists, three came on three-pointers by Dorsey, the result of BC breaking down the Delaware zone and kicking back out for open shots.

"I thought Dorsey did a great job of spotting up and they did a great job of finding her," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin.

Despite all the efforts of Delaware senior forward Chrissy Fisher (26 points, 14 rebounds, 4-4 three-pointers), who dominated on the inside and outside, the Hens were not able to get any closer than five over the final 14 minutes.

Delaware may have been able to push a bit closer in the final minutes had it not been for BC freshman forward Ayla Brown, who put up 17 points, 11 in the second half, along with five rebounds.

This came after Brown posted 14 points and eight rebounds in her collegiate debut on Sunday. Over a two-minute stretch in the second half, Brown had a layup, an assist, a steal, an offensive rebound, and a layup.

Her hustle wore the Hens down and gave the Eagles the lift they needed to overcome a tough opponent.

After watching the men's team fall to Vermont on Monday night, the women were certain not to slip against a team from a smaller league.

"We don't take anything for granted," said Inglese.

Dorsey added, "Boston College basketball, we never take a team lightly."