ERIE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Tori Obenrader was lost.
Five games into her junior season, she suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee that ended her basketball campaign at Gannon University.
(Photos courtesy of Gannon University)
Basketball was so much of her identity that when it was gone, Obenrader was rudderless.
“It was really rough,” the North Clarion graduate said. “It was hard to figure out that there’s more to me than just basketball.”
North Clarion sports on Explore and D9Sports.com are brought to you by First United National Bank – The FUN Bank!
The season was already shortened because of COVID, so people often told Obenrader that her knee injury couldn’t have come at a better time.
She didn’t see it that way.
With basketball out of her life for months, Obenrader suddenly had a gaping void in her life. She had to discover who she was without the sport that had made up so much of who she was.
“I definitely struggled some mentally,” Obenrader said. “I went through the process of figuring out that it’s OK to not be OK. That was something I definitely discovered.”
In a strange way, the knee injury was a blessing to Obenrader.
It helped her come to grips with an eventuality that looms for every player: the end of her career.
“I wouldn’t be able to handle it as well now if it weren’t for that injury,” she admitted. “I realized basketball isn’t who I am, it’s what I do. As much as I hated having knee surgery, something good did come out of it. It helped me prepare for what it’s going to be like when it’s done.”
But it’s not done yet.
On Wednesday, Obenrader became the 30th player in Gannon women’s basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points.
At North Clarion, she scored 2,115 points in her career.
So, what means more to Obenrader — the 1,000 points in college or the 2,000 in high school?
“Oh, boy, that is a tough one,” Obenrader said, chuckling. “I would say high school, but not the 2,000th point. I would say it was breaking the school record held by my cousin, Wendy (Obenrader). She lives in Texas now and she actually came home and was the one who presented me with the ball that night. That was definitely the highlight.”
Wendy Obenrader scored 1,822 points in her career at North Clarion. She established that mark in 1991.
Tori Obenrader broke it in 2018.
Tori then moved on to Gannon and by the end of her freshman season she found herself at a crossroads.
The 5-foot-11 post from Fryburg was coming off a stellar debut season with the Golden Knights. She averaged 7.9 points per game and was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Freshman of the Year.
But Gannon had lost its luster.
Then Cleve Wright’s return put the shine right back on it for Obenrader.
Wright returned for a second stint as Gannon’s coach and changed everything.
“I had a little bit of a rough freshman year,” Obenrader said. “I actually was very much considering transferring. Then the coaching change happened and everyone was saying Coach Wright was here before, stay. I was like, ‘OK, I’ll give him a chance.’
“I couldn’t be happier that I stayed,” she added. “Coach Wright has shaped this program into something so amazing. People who look at our team probably think we’re crazy because we’re probably the closest group of girls that you will ever interact with. The amount of togetherness and feeling of family we have on our team I can’t even put into words. These girls are all going to be in my wedding some day. They are going to be secondary aunts to my children.”
They are also pretty good basketball players.
Gannon is 16-3 and ranked No. 25 in the nation in the latest NCAA Division II poll.
Obenrader has played in every game this season, but has only made three starts. Still, she is averaging nearly 20 minutes off the bench and 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
“I’ve never been super concerned with whether I started or not,” Obenrader said. “Coach Wright is really big on making sure that everyone knows their role and that everyone doesn’t have to be satisfied with their role. He wants everyone to strive to improve. I always want to keep getting better, but I also want to do whatever is best for the team, and if that’s coming off the bench, that’s coming off the bench. He knows what’s best for the team and I respect that.”
Obenrader has one more year of eligibility remaining, but she said she is going to forgo that year and attend Kent State University to get her master’s degree in nutrition.
She originally was going to use her fifth year of eligibility granted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but changed her mind.
Obenrader didn’t want to put her life on pause for one more year of basketball. Plus, she said, she didn’t think her body could withstand the beating of another season.
Her knee is close to 100%, but she still has to receive cortisone shots from time to time to keep playing. She’s also endured a slew of other nagging injuries and recently received six stitches in her forehead when she collided with a teammate going up for a rebound.
“It’s right in the middle of my forehead,” Obenrader said, chuckling. “People are calling me Harry Potter.”
Passing up a year of basketball, though, was still a difficult thing for her to do.
“It’s a very, very tough situation just because I’m an indecisive person to begin with,” Obenrader said. “I actually decided to come back for my fifth year … then I saw how my knee was when I came back and that was a big deciding factor. I want to be able to run after college basketball. I don’t want my quality of life to be affected. Plus, I wouldn’t be advancing education anyway.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be sad when I’m done,” she added. “But it’s going to have to come at some point.”
Obenrader is at peace with that.
She has decided to focus on the present. It was a harsh lesson she learned when she injured her knee — nothing is guaranteed.
“I’m not going to lie — I’m definitely pushing it from my mind,” she said. “I’m just going to remember all the relationships I made with my teammates and everyone involved in our program.”
Fall Sports
Rocky Grove and Lakeview Team Up for Mason
