Moore Catholic had stunned St. Peter’s once this season and was getting set for an encore performance.
Gabriella Rubin made two monster 3-pointers to end the Eagles’ 34-game league winning streak two weeks ago. This time, senior Taylor Baggs had broken her rivals’ hearts with a trey that sent the game into an extra session. The Mavericks had all momentum.
“I wish we could have carried it over into the overtime,” Baggs said.
They did lead briefly in OT on a Jessica Coscia 3-pointer. But that’s the only field goal Moore would score after regulation in a thrilling, 61-54 loss to St. Peter’s in a CHSAA Staten Island girls basketball first-place tiebreaker. A victory would have snapped the Eagles’ 15-year run atop the division and it was the Mavs’ last chance to do it organically since St. Peter’s is closing in June.
“It meant a lot, just to show how hard we worked,” Baggs said. “We wanted to prove we could do it.”
Moore (20-4) had already proven it could beat St. Peter’s. But this game was different. The Eagles were playing for their school. Baggs admitted it was difficult since the opposition had so much motivation and drive. But coach Rich Postiglione said it just came down to getting it done on the court.
“I don’t look at it that way,” he said. “I look at it like when the game is on the line, you gotta get stops. And we didn’t get stops. That really is the difference.”
Coscia put Moore up 53-52 with a clutch 3-pointer at the 1:57 mark of overtime. But St. Peter’s Christine Kline found a seam in the defense and scored, sophomore Kristen Olsen drove the baseline for a basket and Kline made two free throws. All of a sudden St. Peter’s (18-6) held a 58-53 lead with 37 seconds left.
The Eagles held a similar, 48-43 lead after a pair of Olsen free throws with 1:17 left. But Baggs rattled home a baseline jumper with 1:05 to go, Moore got a top and Baggs drained a massive 3 from the right wing to tie things up with 28 seconds remaining. Baggs picked up a steal on the next St. Peter’s possession and Moore had the ball with a chance to win with 12 seconds remaining. But Rubin’s runner fell short as the buzzer sounded.
“Taylor is a tremendous, tremendous player with a tremendous amount of heart,” Postiglione said. “I feel bad for our seniors. But they got everything to be proud of. And listen, don’t count us out because we’ll bounce back.”
The Caldwell College-bound Baggs finished with 19 points, Molloy College-bound senior Nicole Arnone had 13 points and Coscia, who will join Baggs at Caldwell, added 10. It was a strong team effort and well-played game for the Mavericks and Postiglione told them after they have to remember one thing: There are still games to be won.
On Saturday, Moore will meet Maria Regina in the CHSAA Archdiocesan quarterfinals at St. John Villa. Baggs said her team is looking for another shot at St. Peter’s, a fourth meeting that is the likely Archdiocesan final next week.
“We’ve gotta keep playing,” Postiglione said. “We play again on Saturday. There’s no reason for anybody to put their head down.”
