There’s a new word to describe the way Providence’s Layken Callahan plays the game.
Her teammate, Taylor Healy, came up with it.
“Layken brings us so much,” Healy said. “Her drives, her defense, her aggressive-ism. I don’t know if that’s a word.”
So, does Callahan have a lot of “aggressive-ism?”
“I guess so,” Layken said. “If she says so.”
Callahan’s play said so Monday night. The junior forward came up with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics in a 73-47 loss to downstate Washington in the Class 3A Kankakee Supersectional.
Pepperdine recruit Landrie Callahan, Layken’s sister, led Providence (31-5) with 13 points. Kennady Kotowski scored 11 points, while Healy added nine points and four rebounds.
Avery Tibbs tallied 21 points and Kate McDougall added 13 for Washington (33-2), which advanced to play at 11:45 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at CEFCU Arena in Normal against St. Viator (22-14), a 46-43 winner over Geneva.
The Celtics were denied their first trip to state.
“It’s the last year with my sister, so it’s going to hit different,” Layken Callahan said. “But this was still a great season. I’ve never felt closer to a group of teammates as I have with this team.”
“This was very emotional,” Healy said of the loss.
Layken and the Celtics knew they were going to have a tough game on their hands against the Panthers, who entered the supersectional beating opponents by an average of 28.8 points.
Downstate Washington’s resume included some impressive wins against tough teams — 53-45 over Loyola, 58-11 over Kankakee and a 71-58 over Waubonsie Valley.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said.
As a result, rebounds were tough to come by as the Celtics were outrebounded 27-18, even though Layken hit double digits. She had all four of her team’s boards in the third quarter.
“I feel like I was in a position where the shots were coming off the rim and I was just there to rebound,” she said.
Before the season, after the Callahan sisters transferred from Morris, Copenhaver pointed out that Layken played like a “bull in a China shop” and needed to be reined in once in a while.
But that’s not the case anymore.
“She’s done a fantastic job,” Copenhaver said of Layken. “She understands what we want. She has improved. She has the ability to go to the rim, as you can see. She can do a lot of things.
“But she has really, really developed this year.”
Copenhaver confirmed that was product of hard work.
“All coaches like to say it’s them, but that kid puts in hours and hours outside of here,” Copenhaver said of Layken. “She’s always in the gym and always working on her shot.
“I give her nothing but credit for the development she has made.”
Layken hopes that she has shed that previous image.
“I don’t feel I’m still that way,” she said. “But I’m still going to work on my outside shot and my game some more.”
The 6-foot Layken is uncommitted but has an offer from SIU-Edwardsville.
Now, however, getting the Celtics to the state semifinals next season is her top priority. And besides that outside shot, she has some other areas she wants to improve.
“I need to work on my mental stuff and get my ball-handling down,” she said. “I definitely need to work on my running and get faster.”
Healy acknowledged this loss will light a fire under Providence, and Layken will look to take that next step forward.
“I want to have their backs,” Callahan said of her teammates. “I’m ready for next year.
“I just want to come back and finish the job.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
