Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State WBB Ready for Completely Different NCAA Tournament Experience
Mar 22, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
For Kayla Goth and Peyton Williams, it's hard to compare their past NCAA Tournament experiences to the one they face in Louisville, Kentucky, where No. 9 seed K-State (21-11) will play No. 8 Michigan (21-11) on Friday at 1 p.m. (CDT).
Very little about them is the same.
Goth, a senior, has played in two NCAA Tournaments. The first time, when the Wildcats made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in South Carolina, she was a freshman and was purely an energy player off the bench. Her second opportunity came the following year when K-State got the opportunity to host as a No. 7 seed and advanced to the second round again. But Goth was playing through a shoulder injury that required surgery after the season.
Now, going into her last NCAA Tournament, she's a First Team All-Big 12 point guard who's averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 assists this season.
"They're two totally different experiences," Goth said, as K-State's first round battle will be on ESPN2 and ESPN3."I'm just trying to take it as it comes, enjoy the experience, enjoy the process. It's really fun to be here, but it's also do-or-die. You lose, you go home; that's it."
Williams, a junior, followed a similar path. She was a role player as a freshman in her one NCAA Tournament appearance. She averaged 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, which pale in comparison to her team-leading 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds averages this season.
"It's hard for me to look back on my freshman year because I'm completely different," she said. "My whole goal was just to not turn the ball over and to get it to Kindred (Wesemann) and (Breanna Lewis). If I had it in the short corner, I could shoot that one. Like, that was it."
Likewise, it's hard to compare this K-State team to the one in November or even early February. This K-State team has won seven of its last eight games. On February 2, the Wildcats were 13-9 and 4-6 in Big 12 play.
Early in the year, Goth said she was looking to the sidelines every time down the floor for a play call. Now, K-State's point guard and All-American candidate hardly checks with K-State head coach Jeff Mittie at all.
"We are just moving the ball, playing together a lot better. We don't have to talk people through where they're supposed to be as much," she said. "That's definitely changed from an offensive perspective."
Defensively, Williams said the team has been "getting after it a little bit more." The numbers agree. The Wildcats held six of their last seven opponents below 41 percent shooting, with No. 1-ranked Baylor the only exception in that stretch. K-State has also forced 18.8 turnovers on average in its last 10 games.
"We're getting more comfortable with the defenses," she said. "Again, just the time and getting used to playing with each other has really been helpful."
As different as this opportunity may be for K-State's two leaders, Williams said their messages to the younger Wildcats will be similar.
"Flipping the switch and embracing just the newness of it all," Williams said. "We get to play a different team for the first time in several months, which is really fun, so just embracing the challenge of it and just having fun I think will be two of our main points of emphasis."
"It's about understanding the weight of each game and being able to move forward and not put too much weight on it," Goth said, "but knowing that it's there."
For Kayla Goth and Peyton Williams, it's hard to compare their past NCAA Tournament experiences to the one they face in Louisville, Kentucky, where No. 9 seed K-State (21-11) will play No. 8 Michigan (21-11) on Friday at 1 p.m. (CDT).
Very little about them is the same.
Goth, a senior, has played in two NCAA Tournaments. The first time, when the Wildcats made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in South Carolina, she was a freshman and was purely an energy player off the bench. Her second opportunity came the following year when K-State got the opportunity to host as a No. 7 seed and advanced to the second round again. But Goth was playing through a shoulder injury that required surgery after the season.
Now, going into her last NCAA Tournament, she's a First Team All-Big 12 point guard who's averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 assists this season.
"They're two totally different experiences," Goth said, as K-State's first round battle will be on ESPN2 and ESPN3."I'm just trying to take it as it comes, enjoy the experience, enjoy the process. It's really fun to be here, but it's also do-or-die. You lose, you go home; that's it."
Williams, a junior, followed a similar path. She was a role player as a freshman in her one NCAA Tournament appearance. She averaged 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, which pale in comparison to her team-leading 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds averages this season.
"It's hard for me to look back on my freshman year because I'm completely different," she said. "My whole goal was just to not turn the ball over and to get it to Kindred (Wesemann) and (Breanna Lewis). If I had it in the short corner, I could shoot that one. Like, that was it."
Likewise, it's hard to compare this K-State team to the one in November or even early February. This K-State team has won seven of its last eight games. On February 2, the Wildcats were 13-9 and 4-6 in Big 12 play.
Early in the year, Goth said she was looking to the sidelines every time down the floor for a play call. Now, K-State's point guard and All-American candidate hardly checks with K-State head coach Jeff Mittie at all.
"We are just moving the ball, playing together a lot better. We don't have to talk people through where they're supposed to be as much," she said. "That's definitely changed from an offensive perspective."
Defensively, Williams said the team has been "getting after it a little bit more." The numbers agree. The Wildcats held six of their last seven opponents below 41 percent shooting, with No. 1-ranked Baylor the only exception in that stretch. K-State has also forced 18.8 turnovers on average in its last 10 games.
"We're getting more comfortable with the defenses," she said. "Again, just the time and getting used to playing with each other has really been helpful."
As different as this opportunity may be for K-State's two leaders, Williams said their messages to the younger Wildcats will be similar.
"Flipping the switch and embracing just the newness of it all," Williams said. "We get to play a different team for the first time in several months, which is really fun, so just embracing the challenge of it and just having fun I think will be two of our main points of emphasis."
"It's about understanding the weight of each game and being able to move forward and not put too much weight on it," Goth said, "but knowing that it's there."
Players Mentioned
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