Moore Catholic’s Gabriella Rubin hit three clutch 3-pointers. (Denis Gostev)
Taylor Baggs and her Moore Catholic teammates have accomplished many things in their careers. They have consecutive CHSAA Archdiocesan Class A titles and two 20-win seasons. A win over rival St. Peter’s however had eluded them as well as so many other CHSAA teams on Staten Island.
No more.
“It was like a breath of fresh air and like a rush,” said Baggs, a four-year varsity player. “We knew we could do it and we finally did.”
Three clutch three-pointers from freshman Gabriella Rubin and some signature fourth-quarter defense propelled the Mavericks to a thrilling, 52-50 comeback win over the visiting Eagles in CHSAA Staten Island girls basketball Tuesday night.
The victory snaps St. Peter’s 34-game winning streak against league opponents dating back to 2007-08 when St. John Villa knocked them off. It also gives Moore a chance to snap its string of 15 consecutive division titles as the two are now tied for first. The Eagles won the first meeting 67-60.
“This was our last shot at this team for all our seniors,” Rubin said. “We had to give it our all.”
Moore (17-2, 6-1 SI), which trailed by as much as 10 in the third quarter, never led late into the fourth quarter. Rubin, who scored nine points, buried a bomb of a 3-pointer from almost out of bounds along the right side and hit another from the top of the key off a Nicole Arnone rebound that tied the score at 41 with 1:54 left to play. She and her older sister Christina Rubin also connected on consecutive treys before the half to get Moore within 25-19.
“I just know my job on this team is as a shooter and Coach always tells me I have to shoot the ball,” Gabriella Rubin said. “Scorers shoot. It’s just part of my role.”
Added Moore coach Rich Postiglione about Rubin’s second 3: “That took a lot of guts to shoot the ball.”
Baggs gave her team the lead for good at 43-41 with a right elbow jumper with 1:30 to go in the game. Christina Rubin scored 14 points, including a big 3-pointer to cut the St. Peter’s lead to 36-33 with 4:44 left in the third. Baggs tallied 11 points and Alex Salaycik added eight for the Mavericks, ranked No. 7 in the city by The Post. Megan Burns led No. 4 St. Peter’s (15-4, 6-1) with 16 points, Jamie O’Hare had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Ashley Montrechuk had seven points and Christine Kline added six.
“I flashed as hard as I can and I beat my girl to the spot and I just had confidence in that shot,” Baggs said.
Moore extended its lead to 47-41 with 42.2 seconds left. Taylor Robertson sunk two free throws after rebounding a Gabriella Rubin free throw and Christina Rubin added two of her own. Baggs grabbed a key offensive rebound off a Christina Rubin missed free throw, but the Eagles were within 48-46 with 24.5 seconds left after O’Hare made two from the charity stripe. Baggs responded with an easy layup against the press and Kline, who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, made just 1-of-2 foul shots down the other end. St. Peter’s was 11-of-22 from the line in the second half.
Postiglione got exactly what he wanted from his team the final 10 minutes of the game after fighting off poor shooting for nearly three quarters. Moore buckled down defensively and cut off the driving lanes. It held St. Peter’s without a field goal for 8:38 over the third and fourth quarters.
“I thought we relaxed and we loosened up and played really hard in the last 10 minutes of the game,” he said.
The game is only the second chapter of what could be a season-long battle. The Eagles can still keep their division title streak alive if both teams take care of business and meet in a tie-breaker game. The two are also the favorites to meet in the CHSAA Archdiocesan final. But the Mavericks go into those contests with more confidence after doing something no one in their league has in the last three years.
“They are a real good team,” Postiglione said for St. Peter’s. “Congratulations to them because that is an unbelievable streak. That accomplishment speaks for itself, but tonight is about Moore Catholic.”