Junior forward Taylor Healy has found a nice home and her comfort zone at Providence.
Healy was born in Philadelphia and then spent the early part of her childhood in Arizona, but due to her father’s job, the family relocated in 2015 to the south suburbs of Chicago.
“I was really young when we moved,” Healy said, looking back on her journey. “But I think it helped my character knowing different environments and meeting new people.”
The people who follow Providence’s girls basketball program are sure happy to have Healy here.
The Frankfort resident showed off her all-around play once again Monday night to help the powerhouse Celtics to a 69-58 nonconference win over T.F. North in Calumet City.
Senior guard/forward Landrie Callahan put up her usual monster numbers with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for Providence (17-2). Her sister, Layken, tallied 16 points and eight rebounds as the Celtics bounced back from Friday’s 54-49 loss to Green Bay’s Notre Dame Academy in the Grow the Game showcase at Glenbard West.
Healy, meanwhile, came through with a huge assist in crunch time against T.F. North (11-5).
Facing a double team in the lane, she twice made moves that looked like she was faking shot. Instead, Healy kicked the ball out to a wide-open Liv Anderson, who swished a 3-pointer with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter to give the Celtics a 61-51 lead.
“That was perfect,” Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said of Healy, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. “Taylor does a really good job with that kind of stuff.”
Healy found her love for the sport while playing Ivy League Kids Little Dribblers basketball in Frankfort and at Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in Orland Hills.
And as tempting as it was to take that shot, she still deferred.
“I didn’t need to take the shot,” Healy said. “There was probably a good chance of not making it. The corner was open, so passing it out was a higher percentage of making it.”
Natalie McGhee led T.F. North with 28 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals. Lauryn Jackson added 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. Gamaria Branch had seven rebounds.
But the 6-foot Healy, who totaled 17 rebounds in a Dec. 30 tournament game against Lincoln-Way East, countered that by delivering a diverse array of skill on the court.
“I think she rebounds the ball really, really well,” Layken Callahan said of Healy. “And she can make her left-handed layups really well, too.”
After the score was tied at 27-27 at halftime, the Celtics came out strong. Layken scored seven points in the first four minutes of the third quarter and also found her sister for some big assists.
“Layken is just a powerhouse,” Healy said. “She’s going to get the ball and she’s going to drive or she will kick it out. You don’t know what she is going to do.
“She always has the defense on their toes and that helps us being our game together.”
While Healy has been getting college recruiting interest, including St. Mary’s, she has been sending out emails and talking to other schools.
Basketball hasn’t been her only passion. She likes to sing and act, receiving some big roles in musicals back in grade school. She hasn’t been able to take the stage at Providence because she went all-in on basketball and plays on the travel circuit during the offseason.
It was a hard decision, but her love for the sport won out.
“I love basketball because it’s an outlet,” she said. “You are able to go out and shoot and play defense with all of your aggression. Then you come out and feel much better.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.