Nicole Arnone kept a rough estimate on how many 3-pointers teammate Christina Rubin hit.
“Like a 100,” Arnone joked. “She was on fire.”
Rubin connected on seven shots from behind the arc in the first half and a career-high eight in the game. The junior scored 26 points, one off her career best, to lead the Mavericks to a convincing 57-26 win over host Cardinal Spellman in the CHSAA Archdiocesan girls basketball semifinals Friday. The Mavericks made 11 treys in the game.
“I was just really confident,” said Rubin, a junior. “I felt like we just needed to score. Being a shooter if I’m open I am going to shoot the ball. Even if I miss. … I promise I really didn’t [know how many]. I was just shooting because I was open."
Denis Gostev
Moore Catholic's Christina Rubin connected on a career-high eight 3-pointers against Spellman.
The lack of hesitation stemmed from a long talk with head coach Rich Postiglione. The two had a good hour-and-half chat stuck in traffic on the way to The Bronx as Rubin rode with him to the game. She had been in a slump of late and Postiglione wanted her to stop thinking and just shoot.
“She was not hesitating at all [today],” he said. “Shooters know that they are real good shooters and you don’t have to beg them to shoot the ball.”
Rubin helped Moore (22-4) break up what was a tight sloppy game to start. She hit three straight 3-pointers, two from the top of the key, to close the first quarter to give the Mavericks a 16-8 lead. Her hot shooting continued. The Mavericks ripped off a 13-2 run before the half that including four consecutive shots from behind the arc – one from Arnone and three more from Rubin. Taylor Baggs scored 13 points and Arnone added 10.
“When Rubin is on we are even more unstoppable,” Arnone said. “I don’t think it was much of a surprise. She has one of the best shots in the league.”
Postiglione felt his team’s success from the outside took the wind out of the longer and more athletic Spellman (20-6). The Pilots played most of the game without Boston University-bound senior Troi Melton (eight points), who picked up her third foul in the second quarter and her fourth early in the third. Postiglione lauded the play of sophomore forward Taylor Robertson on the offensivee glass in the third quarter, where Spellman scored just six points.
“[She] really didn’t allow them to get back into the game,” he said. “Time of possession was really, really key for us.”
The win was an important one for the Mavericks. They get one last crack at rival St. Peter’s in the Archdiocesan final Sunday at St. John Villa at a time to be determined. The Eagles beat Moore 61-54 in overtime last Thursday for the CHSAA Staten Island crown.
The victory also clinched the Mavs a berth in next weekend’s CHSAA Class AA state tournament after playing in the ‘A’ the last two seasons. That was one of the team’s goals for the year.
“I say it all the time, it’s not about proving everybody wrong, it’s about us," Rubin said. "We have to know that we can do it and we do know. … Nobody works hard than us.”
No one shot better than her Friday either.
jstaszewski@nypost.com
cardinal spellman, sloppy game, girls basketball, arnone, consecutive shots, archdiocesan, baggs, top of the key, treys, rough estimate, head coach, mavericks, hesitation, shooters, slump, pointers, teammate, first quarter, arc, shooter
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