Sports

Moore stifles superstar, beats Piscataway

Moore Catholic is known for its stifling defense. But Sunday presented a unique challenge. On the other side of the court was Piscataway (N.J.), led by guard Danaejah Grant, one of the top juniors in the United States. She’s the best player the Mavericks have seen and probably will see all year.

“I thought that she was a great player,” Moore junior guard Christina Rubin said. “We needed to key her. She can shoot from anywhere on the court. She’s athletic, she’s quick. She has the ability to light it up at any time.”

Coach Rich Postiglione devised a 3-2 zone with help from both sides to keep Grant out of the lane. And the strategy worked in Moore’s 50-38 win over Piscataway in the Coaches Choice USA New York vs. New Jersey Challenge at St. John Villa on Staten Island. Grant, who is being recruited by just about every college in the Big East, SEC and ACC, was held to just 18 points on 8-of-28 shooting.

“She’s real good,” Postiglione said. “She almost can’t be played one on one. You have to have help left and help right. I thought we made her work and I thought we made her take bad shots.”

On the flip side, Moore (9-1) made shots when it needed to, none bigger than a Taylor Baggs 3-pointer with 2:07 left in the game. Piscataway had just cut its deficit to 41-35 with a 5-0 run, but Rubin used a pump fake to get into the lane, where she kicked it to Baggs on the right elbow behind the arc. Postiglione said he felt it was the game’s biggest shot.

“She’s the MVP of the league,” Rubin said. “I knew she was gonna make the shot.”

The Caldwell College-bound Baggs had nine of her 13 points in the second half after a slow start. Almost all were significant. When Piscataway tied the score at 29 with 2:49 to go in the third quarter, Baggs responded with a runner across the lane and a layup to give Moore a bigger cushion. She also finished a layup off a beautiful halfcourt pass from senior point guard Jessica Coscia in the fourth while Piscataway was fruitlessly trying to press.

“In the beginning my head wasn’t in it,” Baggs said. “I wasn’t thinking until the end of the game. I had to pick up the intensity.”

Added Postiglione: “Tayor Baggs is a gamer and Taylor Baggs knows it’s a 32-minute game. She also had 10 rebounds today. She’s usually a double-double for us and she does a lot of things. She also had some big shots besides the 3.”

Rubin led the way with 16 points and added seven rebounds for the Mavericks. Coscia, who will play with Baggs at Caldwell next year, and Taylor Robertson each had seven points. It was another solid victory in an early season filled with them for Moore, which has beaten the likes of John F. Kennedy, Bishop Kearney and Cardinal Spellman with some big non-leagues coming up next weekend at the Martin Luther King Classic at Bishop Ford.

“I think we’re trying to prove something to ourselves that we can play with the other teams out there competitively and we can keep up with them,” Rubin said.

They have steadily proven that to the rest of the city.

mraimondi@nypost.com