If there is one person that is ready for the ASU women’s basketball team to make it back to the NCAA Tournament, it’s Becca Tobin.
The 6-foot-5 forward went as a freshman and a sophomore, and played key minutes during the Sun Devils’ run to the Elite Eight in 2009.
Last season, when ASU lost in the second round of the WNIT, was tough to take.
“Last year I hated that we didn’t go,” Tobin said. “All my other years, that was the standard here, and we didn’t make it.”
As of Monday the Sun Devils were in the tournament as a nine seed, according to the latest ESPN.com predictions. With a strong performance at the Pac-10 Tournament, the team could be seeded even higher.
“We better get in, that’s all I’m saying,” Tobin said. “We need to finish strong, and then we’ll have a good opportunity to get there.”
Returning to the NCAAs has been the team’s goal since the beginning of the year, and it’s been a long season trying to get there.
And with the end result in sight, Tobin is not about to let it go.
“I just bring everything that I can every game, and just help everyone out,” Tobin said. “I’m just trying to focus on the games we have left and finishing strong.”
That hunger to return to the Big Dance can be expected from a player that has led the team the last two years. But for Tobin, the team’s success this season is about more than just the desire to win.
“Every year has its own meaning, but this one, our team is just so close, and we hang out off the court, not just on the court,” Tobin said. “We’re actually like a family, with the coaches and everything. Everyone gets along.”
That closeness, more than anything else, is the real reason the team has seen success this year, along with the chance to return to the NCAA Tournament.
“We have open and honest communication,” Tobin said. “That’s what helps us the most, and that’s what makes us so close.”
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
