SE: Senior Plays Help Seal Win in K-State WBB’s Home Finale
Mar 04, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
In their last game in Bramlage Coliseum, Kayla Goth and Kali Jones made plays fitting for a Senior Day celebration. Especially down the stretch.
Goth, who scored 10 points, helped ice a 75-67 win against Texas Tech on Saturday with her 12th assist with 37 seconds to play.
The assist could have easily been Goth's fourth made field goal, as she had an open look in her money midrange area. But, as the senior point guard rose up for the shot, she found a wide-open Peyton Williams with a few seconds left on the shot clock.
"That was kind of the dagger that ended it," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "Goth controls the game so well and we were able to control the end of the game."
Jones, who added 11 points, helped make Goth's final assist possible. Before it, Jones grabbed her fourth offensive rebound of the fourth quarter, her sixth offensive board of the game and her ninth overall. It was also her team's second offensive rebound of the possession, which Goth ended after nearly a minute of clock ran off to put away a pesky Lady Raider squad.
"It was cool after the game to go, 'That was a really fitting ending for Senior Day.' We have a lot of basketball left, but for today it was awesome to see (Jones) do that," Mittie said, as the Wildcats (19-10, 10-7) finish the regular season at Oklahoma State on Monday. "We had some cool plays from the seniors at the end."
Goth and Jones also started the game with a bang.
The duo scored 10 of their team's first 15 points toward an early eight-point lead and finished the first quarter a combined 6-of-6 from the field. K-State, however, rode a back-and-forth series of runs before their seniors could seal the victory.
Texas Tech ended the first quarter on a 12-0 run to lead by two. K-State responded with a 13-0 start to the second, to which Texas Tech answered with a 15-0 spurt. The Wildcats scored the final five points of the first half and the first five of the second to open a six-point lead. Williams, who ended with a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds, scored nine points of an 11-2 run for K-State later in the third quarter that extended her team's advantage to 11. The Lady Raiders kept on coming, however, and pulled within four early in the fourth.
At this point, Goth said her mentality was simple: Finish.
Finish her home career on the right note, secure her team's sixth win in its last seven games and its 10thconference win this season, and continue to make K-State's case for an NCAA Tournament bid harder to doubt.
"I think earlier in the season we would have struggled to finish a game like that. That was drilled into my mind and I kept drilling it into them: Finish, finish, finish," Goth said. "We knew what we needed to do to win that game... it was just being able to execute down the stretch."
Goth got the honor of dribbling out the clock in front of a crowd that emphatically applauded her career efforts more than those on Saturday. She went over 500 career assists in the win and, with 196 assists this season, will soon join Shalee Lehning as the only other Wildcat ever to record 200 or more assists in a season twice.
"I've put my heart and soul into this program for the last four years and will continue to for the next, hopefully, month here," Goth said. "That standing ovation, it just means a lot coming from the people I've played for the last four years. Those are the people you want to get the wins for, you want to progress in the (NCAA) Tournament for. It's pretty cool."
Jones, who set K-State's single-game record for blocks with nine against Lamar earlier this season, also admitted Saturday's game meant a little more than normal. For someone who's doubled her minutes-per-game (11.0 to 22.0) and tripled her scoring average (2.2 to 6.6) from a year ago, it was a fitting farewell to the fans who have been there for her journey.
"K-State has been like a family to me," Jones said. "They came out and supported us, like they have all season, but tonight was very special. It was great."
In their last game in Bramlage Coliseum, Kayla Goth and Kali Jones made plays fitting for a Senior Day celebration. Especially down the stretch.
Goth, who scored 10 points, helped ice a 75-67 win against Texas Tech on Saturday with her 12th assist with 37 seconds to play.
The assist could have easily been Goth's fourth made field goal, as she had an open look in her money midrange area. But, as the senior point guard rose up for the shot, she found a wide-open Peyton Williams with a few seconds left on the shot clock.
"That was kind of the dagger that ended it," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "Goth controls the game so well and we were able to control the end of the game."
Jones, who added 11 points, helped make Goth's final assist possible. Before it, Jones grabbed her fourth offensive rebound of the fourth quarter, her sixth offensive board of the game and her ninth overall. It was also her team's second offensive rebound of the possession, which Goth ended after nearly a minute of clock ran off to put away a pesky Lady Raider squad.
"It was cool after the game to go, 'That was a really fitting ending for Senior Day.' We have a lot of basketball left, but for today it was awesome to see (Jones) do that," Mittie said, as the Wildcats (19-10, 10-7) finish the regular season at Oklahoma State on Monday. "We had some cool plays from the seniors at the end."
Goth and Jones also started the game with a bang.
The duo scored 10 of their team's first 15 points toward an early eight-point lead and finished the first quarter a combined 6-of-6 from the field. K-State, however, rode a back-and-forth series of runs before their seniors could seal the victory.
Texas Tech ended the first quarter on a 12-0 run to lead by two. K-State responded with a 13-0 start to the second, to which Texas Tech answered with a 15-0 spurt. The Wildcats scored the final five points of the first half and the first five of the second to open a six-point lead. Williams, who ended with a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds, scored nine points of an 11-2 run for K-State later in the third quarter that extended her team's advantage to 11. The Lady Raiders kept on coming, however, and pulled within four early in the fourth.
At this point, Goth said her mentality was simple: Finish.
Finish her home career on the right note, secure her team's sixth win in its last seven games and its 10thconference win this season, and continue to make K-State's case for an NCAA Tournament bid harder to doubt.
"I think earlier in the season we would have struggled to finish a game like that. That was drilled into my mind and I kept drilling it into them: Finish, finish, finish," Goth said. "We knew what we needed to do to win that game... it was just being able to execute down the stretch."
Goth got the honor of dribbling out the clock in front of a crowd that emphatically applauded her career efforts more than those on Saturday. She went over 500 career assists in the win and, with 196 assists this season, will soon join Shalee Lehning as the only other Wildcat ever to record 200 or more assists in a season twice.
"I've put my heart and soul into this program for the last four years and will continue to for the next, hopefully, month here," Goth said. "That standing ovation, it just means a lot coming from the people I've played for the last four years. Those are the people you want to get the wins for, you want to progress in the (NCAA) Tournament for. It's pretty cool."
Jones, who set K-State's single-game record for blocks with nine against Lamar earlier this season, also admitted Saturday's game meant a little more than normal. For someone who's doubled her minutes-per-game (11.0 to 22.0) and tripled her scoring average (2.2 to 6.6) from a year ago, it was a fitting farewell to the fans who have been there for her journey.
"K-State has been like a family to me," Jones said. "They came out and supported us, like they have all season, but tonight was very special. It was great."
Players Mentioned
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