FAIRFAX, Va. – Perhaps it was just a regular season game in November. But for head coach Bill Reinson and the Longwood women's basketball program, a victory at Xavier could have long-lasting ramifications for the Lancers and even the Big South Conference.
After the Lancers beat Xavier, 67-64, in Cincinnati on Nov. 21, Reinson began hearing from some of his coaching colleagues.
"The Big South coaches stick together," said Reinson, prior to a game at George Mason on Nov. 25. "A lot of them called or texted me. It has been really neat. It was one of those nights that was kind of surreal. It was a special night."
It was the first win in Longwood women's history against a team from the BIG EAST Conference or one of the power conferences. Xavier was coming off an overtime win against Michigan, a member of the Big Ten Conference, eight days earlier.
"It is huge, not just for women's basketball but Longwood, period," said Heather Tobeck, a redshirt-senior forward. "We have never beaten a team like that. Winning that game … I cried after that game."
Longwood reeled off an 18-0 run to take a 21-4 lead in the first half. Xavier, a former contender in the Atlantic 10 Conference, ran off an 18-4 spurt in the second half, but the Lancers weathered the storm. Tobeck hit a big three-pointer down the stretch.
"When she hit that shot, it was so exciting," said Daeisha Brown, a sophomore guard for the Lancers.
The Lancers held on to win, 67-64, as Brown had 26 points and five assists, Tobeck had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Kyndal Skersick had 11 points and Deborah Headen added 10 points.
"It is undoubtedly the biggest win in school history in women's basketball. They are in the BIG EAST now," Reinson said of Xavier. "It is huge for the progression of the program."
The win lifted Longwood to 3-1 overall for its best start at the Division I level, though the Lancers fell in their next game in Fairfax in a last-second loss to George Mason on Nov. 26 at the Patriot Center.
Tobeck noted the women's victory against Xavier came just days after the Longwood men won at Texas Christian for that program's first win over a major conference team.
"It was amazing. It was the best feeling I ever had playing basketball," Brown said of the win over Xavier. "We had a big lead at first. When they started catching up, I was thinking, 'We can't let this slip away.' "
And it came without one of Longwood's top scorers, as sophomore guard Raven Williams missed the game with an injury she incurred against Utah Valley in Farmville.
"We definitely made a statement at Xavier," Williams said. "That game pretty much said we can hang with anyone on our schedule."
Facing teams from power conferences is nothing new for the Lancers under Reinson, who is in his fourth year as the head coach. In the past, the Lancers have faced the likes of North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Virginia, Miami and Notre Dame, an annual Final Four contender.
But Reinson said Longwood is better served to face teams a notch below the likes of the Hurricanes and Irish. "What we have tried to get is middle of the pack teams from those higher conferences. We are much more competitive" against that level, he said.
The only setback in the first four games for the Lancers came in the first game of the season in a 63-46 loss at Seton Hall, another member of the BIG EAST Conference.
The Lancers feel games against the likes of Seton Hall and Xavier will help prepare them for the Big South. Picked to place sixth in the league, Longwood begins conference play December 6 at High Point.
The Lancers, 14-19 overall last season, lost four seniors and Reinson started four sophomores and a redshirt senior in a game at George Mason of the Atlantic 10 on Nov. 25. Last season, the Lancers lost in the conference tourney title game to Liberty.
"Last year we made it to the championship," Brown said. "This year I want to win the championship."
Longwood fell to 3-2, as Tobeck had a career-high 21 points while sophomore guard Deborah Headen, who grew up in nearby Herndon, had a career-high seven assists against Mason. Brown had 22 points and Ali had 10 rebounds, but Sandra Ngoie, a transfer from Georgia Tech, hit a shot in the closing seconds, as the Patriots won 66-65 after trailing by 16.
"It boasts our confidence a lot," Tobeck said of beating Xavier. "This loss (at Mason) brings us back down. But the thing about our team is we want to win. Losing tonight is going to make us want to win more when conference play comes around."
LANCER NOTES: The game at Mason was also a homecoming for freshman reserve guard Amanda Denny, who is from Vienna, Va. and played at George C. Marshall High … Longwood assistant coach Adria Crawford is from Alexandria, Va. and played at Georgetown … How far has the Lancers program come? Longwood was 7-22 overall during the 2011-12 season and it lost that season by 22 points at home to George Mason … Headen entered the game against Mason with nine career assists in 26 games but had 7 of the team's 17 assists.
Previous 2013-14 Special Features
From South Africa to Longwood
Longwood Head Coach Jayson Gee Introduces PACE
Soccer is a family affair for Kelsey Pardue
Editor's Note: Special consultant David Driver is a Virginia native and has covered college sports in the state for more than 20 years. He has been a staff writer for newspapers in Arlington, Springfield and Harrisonburg and has contributed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Washington Post, Stafford County Sun and The Potomac News in Woodbridge. He was also the first sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner. He will continue contributing special feature content to longwoodlancers.com throughout the upcoming 2013-14 academic year as well. A former Division III baseball player at Eastern Mennonite University, David can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.
