Girls Basketball: Dotsey sisters offering Haverford a dual threat, and a lot of fun

HAVERFORD — Caroline and Rian Dotsey are in their second and final season playing basketball together at Haverford.

The big difference this winter is the emergence of Rian, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard/forward who, according to her big sister, “came on really strong last year.” Rian earned her spot in the starting lineup alongside Caroline, a four-year starter and 6-2 power forward who is bound for the University of Maine in 2023. The elder Dotsey is close to scoring 1,000 points for her career.

With the Dotsey siblings playing dominant ball in December, the Fords entered this week’s Brooklyn Bridge Classic in New York with a perfect 7-0 record. They have outscored their opposition by an average margin of 30.4 points.

“I think they are going to have a special year together,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said following her team’s 57-30 win over Garnet Valley last week. “Obviously Rian was on the team last year, but she is making major strides forward and really improved her game. She had a nice offseason. They are different types of players, but they play well with each other. They look for each other and they know each other’s game, so it’s fun to watch every day. It’s in practice, not just games. When they go at each other (in practice), it’s fun to see. They compete on the regular.”

Caroline joked that Rian isn’t quite as tall as she is, but people in school tend to point out that Rian is quickly catching up.

“She’s going to zoom past me,” Caroline said. “We go back and forth on who’s taller. I still think I am. We walk by in the hallways and teachers will say, ‘Uh-oh, she’s got you Caroline.’ By her senior year she’ll probably be a lot taller.”

Despite their similarities in height, the Dotseys have their differences on the court. Caroline is a low-post menace quick to strike from mid range and drive to the hoop. And she is a dominant rebounder (she grabbed 17 boards against Garnet Valley) and defender. Rian has what Caroline says is a “guard-oriented” mentality.

“I think that is a huge strength for her,” Caroline said. “She is doing great. She plays long and her defense is so strong. I have to say that she is right now probably a better defender than I was at that point. But, you know, in many ways we are definitely similar players. … We are able to have that chemistry kind of off the court a little bit more, too, and seeing that carryover is fun. She is so athletic that it all comes naturally to her.”

Rian is thrilled to be sharing so much time on the floor with her sister.

“It’s so much fun. We look for each other a lot and I feel like we play off each other really well,” Rian said. “I think we have a different style of play, but we also play sort of similarly. So we take … little pieces from each other and build our own.”

Caroline and Rian agree that their stellar performances on the court are far from the only reasons the Fords are off to an amazing start. Senior forward/center Mollie Carpenter, who is committed to Catholic University, is an offensive and defensive force inside the paint. The Fords have three legit forwards who stand six feet or taller, a discernible advantage over every team in the Central League.

Meanwhile, combo guards Sky Newman and Aniya Eberhart have excelled in the back court, showing a shared ability to hit the 3-point shot and run the point with aplomb.

“It’s definitely been a team effort,” Rian said. “We’ve been really focused on improving our defense and that’s been able to lead into a lot of looks on offense. It’s been great.”

The Fords are built to go a long way in the Central League and also make a run in the District 1 Class 6A tournament. The program hasn’t won a league championship since 2012.

Caroline Dotsey will savor this final season, and when it’s all said and done, hopes to make a lot of lasting memories with Rian.

“This is my last year here with her and being able to spend a lot of time on the floor with her is really fun,” she said. “We just want to keep playing well and the entire team is working hard.”