“It’s been a long [career], but a good one,” said senior forward Heather Tobeck after Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss. “I’m glad I came back.”
Tobeck was the lone senior for the 2013-2014 Longwood women’s basketball squad who saw her career end in a 54-40 loss to the 7-seed Presbyterian College Blue Hose. The Lancers were right in the thick of things until they went cold from the floor the last eight minutes of the game.
This season was her first after she took a year off from basketball last season for personal reasons.
“Heather Tobeck coming back was a gift,” said Head Coach Bill Reinson. “We weren't even sure it was going to happen. I'm glad she came back, and she's going to graduate and that's a great thing for her.”
Her presence was missed last season. Game after game, teams had more size than Longwood, and they were outrebounded consistently, meaning they had to play stellar defense and knock down almost every open look they had on offense.
As always, getting back into the rhythm of participating on an athletic team can take time and be hard after some time away from the game.
“It was tough; I was in pain every day,” said Tobeck about her comeback this season. “These last couple weeks have been better, though. I enjoyed it, and it was worth coming back.”
With the rigorous schedule of a student athlete between class, practices, games and traveling, Tobeck was still able to be a leader and show the younger players how to succeed on and off the court.
“She’s really good at helping us and teaching us things, and it’s going to be a big loss moving forward,” said freshman guard Brenna Robbins. “She’s a really good shooter and it’s going to be really hard to replace her.”
Tobeck saw plenty of play time in her five year career at Longwood as she appeared in 109 games and set the school record for blocks in a career with 158. She also tallied 541 points and 375 rebounds.
Tobeck was also a huge key on this season’s team as she was a leader and mentor for the young roster that Reinson had. Reinson has been the coach for Tobeck’s entire career.
“He’s been a father figure to me,” said Tobeck. “Even before I left, that’s how he was to me. He had to bring me back and he did. I have to be very grateful.”
The Longwood program is a young team on the rise that have had to transition into the Big South after moving to Division I in 2007.
When asked about her favorite memory this year at Longwood, Tobeck said, “The people, because we never really had a great season. It was more about the people and my teammates this year.”
Moving forward, the Lancers will have to try and find someone to fill the role Tobeck played.
“I don't know that you replace the size,” said Reinson. “We definitely need some rebounding help, and we need somebody to score inside that doesn't necessarily need to be 6'4".
The Lancers will return many players that started this season under Tobeck’s leadership.
“We’re a young team so we all know we have a lot of work to put in this offseason,” said Robbins.
The key player to taking the first step in filling Tobeck’s shoes is freshmen forward Emily Nylen.
Reinson said, “She's got a lot of work to do and a lot of tools to work with. We'll probably use Emily and find somebody in the recruiting class that can help us with rebounding.”
The future looks bright for the Lancers, but it’s going to be a tough task to do without the presence of Tobeck.
