Taylor Hinkle is always happy to help.
No matter what that is.
Hinkle is a senior on the Holy Family University women’s basketball team, and coming into college, the Central Bucks South High School graduate spent most of her time playing with the ball in her hand.
When she got to Philly, she could have contributed playing her normal position, but Tigers coach Bernadette Laukaitis saw something that would involve a slight change in Hinkle’s game.
“When I came in as a freshman, I played the wing spot all my life,” Hinkle said. “I was playing the two or the three. When I came in freshman year, I had a conversation with my coach. She saw something else. She wanted me to play power forward.
“It wasn’t bad at all. All the teammates I had helped me. They held my hand. I learned a lot, and I looked up to them during games. I saw how they handled all the pressure. I couldn’t do it without them. It’s intimidating. Having those teammates there helped a lot.
“Now I’m a power forward. I think I’ve adapted, I’m comfortable. I can still bring the ball up. I mean it helps because my whole life I was a two or three, it’s a different role. If my coaches and teammates need me, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever we need.”
Hinkle didn’t just become a great power forward.
She grew into that role, while staying dangerous with the ball in her hands, and as a playmaker who sets up her teammates. But more importantly, instead of being the intimidated player she was as a freshman, she was the exact opposite.
She was the fearless leader the Tigers needed to do something special, and boy did they ever do that this season.
Holy Family became the first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women’s basketball team to win the NCAA Division II East Regional with a 78-62 win over Daemen on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University.
The Tigers next went to Pittsburgh where they fell to Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
It wasn’t the perfect ending,
“It’s a dream come true,” Hinkle said. “I never thought when I started playing basketball I’d be in the Elite Eight. Every little girl dreams of it. We finally got to this moment. There’s nobody else I’d rather do it with than these girls and the coaches.”
Hinkle didn’t just star during the tournament, she was one of the best players in Division II college basketball all season.
Not only was she First Team All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference for the third straight season, she ended her career by earning CACC Player of the Year.
Hinkle averaged a double-double, scoring 14.5 points per game, while pulling down 12.12 rebounds per game. She also did a fine job for a forward getting her teammates involved, dishing out better than two assists per game.
She was putting up video game numbers all year while always being one of the best players on the court. But this season wasn’t about any of her individual accomplishments, at least in her eyes.
“This season meant a lot for everyone. It’s so great having the support we have from the university. All these fans come up to travel, faculty and staff. We had so much support, and it means so much to everyone.
“We are having a great year. Our team has a very deep bench, that’s one of the best things about our team. You never know whose day it’s going to be. That’s what (was) so great about us. It makes it hard to scout us, nobody can figure out the mechanisms because we don’t even know it. We just believe in each other, someone coming in, we have that same belief.”
The Tigers will continue to benefit for years from what Hinkle has passed on to her teammates who are underclassmen.
She can’t wait to see what the future holds for the team.
“I think throughout my four years, I’ve adapted and grown more and more, and that has a lot to do with the coaches,” Hinkle said. “Previous teammates and current teammates, too, learning from them. You learn so much from teammates. Being a student of the game has helped. You can’t help but learn here and I hope I was able to help. We have some really good younger players who are going to do great.”
Hinkle emphasized how much her Holy Family family has helped her, but she also had some pretty great support behind the scenes.
“Obviously my family are a huge help,” Hinkle said. “I started playing basketball in second grade. My dad took me out to a park and taught me. I’ve grown to love the game because of him and my mom. And my brothers were never the basketball type, but they would rebound for me, that was a huge help.
“And all the people I grew up with believing in me and supporting me. People in my school, elementary, middle school, high school. My whole community shows up for me and it means a lot.”
While she won’t be playing for Holy Family, she’ll always be a huge part of the program.
And she’s excited about the future. “I have been thinking about it, I want my master’s,” said Hinkle, who will graduate with a degree in Healthcare Administration and Management. “It’ll be better for my future and the job I want.”
