MANHATTAN, Kansas – For the fifth time in program history and the first time since the 2008-09 season, Kansas State women's basketball placed three student-athletes on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VII teams. K-State was the only team in the Big 12 with two or more honorees.
The three K-State recipients are senior guard/forward
Shaelyn Martin on the first team and junior guard
Kayla Goth and sophomore forward
Peyton Williams on the second team. Martin is just the second player in program history to earn two or more CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team honors, joining Laurie Koehn.
As a first team selection, Martin advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected in early March.
As a program, K-State women's basketball has earned 21 CoSIDA Academic All-District VII citations by 14 student-athletes.
Martin, a product of Salina, Kansas, owns a perfect 4.0 grade point average majoring in kinesiology/pre-occupational therapy. Prior to Thursday's honor, Martin has been recognized for her work in the classroom as she is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, 2015 Big 12 Academic All-Rookie member, seven-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient and is a two-time Pat Bosco Academic Award winner, given to the team's top academic student-athlete.
On the floor, Martin is the sixth player in program history with 500 or more career points, 700 or more rebounds and 350 or more career assists. She currently ranks tied for fifth in program history for career assists with 397, ranks 12th for career rebounds as she currently has 733, ninth for career steals with 198 and tied for seventh for career starts with 117.
In her senior season, Martin is averaging 5.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 26 games this season. She has scored in double figures in three games this season and has a pair of games with 15 rebounds.
Goth, a native of DeForest, Wisconsin, is an accounting major who is two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team recipient and named to the 2016 Academic All-Rookie Team.
This season, Goth has set career season-highs in 14 statistical categories including points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Goth's assist total of 178 (6.6 apg) leads the Big 12 and ranks 15th in the nation. Her 178 assists is the fifth-highest total in school history for a single season.
In addition to pacing the team in assists, Goth leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game. She is the first player in school history to register 400 or more points and 175 or more assists in a season. Her scoring average increase from last season to this season of 10.8 points per game is tied for the second highest increase from one season to the next in program history.
Williams, a product of Topeka, Kansas, is an anthropology major who earned her first Academic All-Big 12 First Team citation this season and was a 2017 Academic All-Rookie Team selection.
On the floor, Williams has also had a career season, as she has set career season-highs in 16 statistical categories including points, rebounds, blocks and steals.
Her scoring average increase from last season to this season of 10.5 points per game is the fourth highest increase from one season to the next in program history. She leads the team and ranks among the Big 12 top 15 in field goal percentage (.539), points per game (14.2) and rebounds per game (7.0).
Kansas State will conclude its 2017-18 regular season home schedule on Saturday, as the Wildcats host Kansas in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at 3 p.m. In a pregame ceremony at 2:45 p.m., of Saturday's game, K-State will recognize members of the 1968-69 team, the first intercollegiate women's basketball team in program history.
In a postgame ceremony, Kansas State will honor its senior class of
Shaelyn Martin,
Karyla Middlebrook and
Kaylee Page.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on FSN regional networks and will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free on kstatesports.com.
