Junior guard Olivia Anderson has been around basketball for a long time, starting out in the sport back in kindergarten. And she also has longtime ties to Providence through her mother.
Katie Anderson, whose maiden name is Hultgen, played for the Celtics. She got her daughter going in a Mokena league and coached her over the years. Mom also gave her great advice.
“She said to work hard every single day,” Anderson said. “You have to work for what you have.”
According to junior forward Taylor Healy, Anderson has taken that to heart.
“Liv is very feisty and she goes after every single ball,” Healy said. “She gets rebounds that you think would be impossible to get. It’s really fun playing with her.”
Anderson had some fun Wednesday night, setting the tone with seven points in the first quarter to spark Providence to a 71-15 win over Tinley Park in a WJOL Tournament second-round game at Joliet Junior College.
Pepperdine commit Landrie Callahan, a Morris transfer, led the Celtics (2-0) with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Healy added 12 points, while Layken Callahan, Landrie’s sister, scored all 10 of her points in the second quarter.
Sophomore forward Kennady Kotowski added five points and four rebounds, just days after helping Providence’s volleyball team take third in the state in Class 3A. In Monday’s season opener, she scored nine points on three 3-pointers.
The 5-foot-6 Anderson, meanwhile, pushed Providence to a quick 15-3 lead and finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and four steals. The starters were subbed in early and often.
For Anderson, though, it was a nice start.
“Liv is a scrapper and is tough on defense,” Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said of Anderson. “She may look like one of the little kids on the floor, but she has that dog mentality.
“She is always going to be playing hard and she always works hard. When you think the big girls are going to come up with the ball, somehow (Olivia’s) hands are on it.”
Tinley Park (0-2) got a helping hand from Chorah Horbaczewski with a team-best six points.
Providence faces Joliet West (1-1) in the final pool-play game at 4 p.m. Friday with a chance to advance to the championship game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Anderson pointed out she’s not sure where she picked up having a nose for the ball.
“I have no idea,” she said with a laugh. “I just like going for the ball and getting my hands on it.”
The Celtics would love to get their hands on a state trophy this season. The addition of 6-2 Landrie Callahan and 5-11 Layken Callahan changes the whole look of the Celtics.
“It’s really been exciting seeing the new dynamic of the team,” Healy said. “It’s totally different from last year having so many guards. Now, we have so many posts.
“We have so much height and it’s so much fun to play with.”
Anderson confirmed that the new look makes the Celtics strong in many different ways.
“It’s great because we have more rebounding and we can play different defenses,” she said. “The height brings a lot of easy passes.”
Copenhaver, who was announced as a inductee for this year’s class for the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, is impressed with how often Anderson gets to the basketball on defense despite her lack of height.
On top of that, Copenhaver praised Anderson for improving from her sophomore season.
“Yes, she’s on the smaller side,” Copenhaver said of Anderson. “She plays strong and now she’s able to hit the 3-pointer a little bit better. She is going to help us in a lot of different ways.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
