Goth and Jones leave legacies for Kansas State

A couple minutes before that, fellow senior Kayla Goth checked out for the final time. She walked off the court to a standing ovation. When she reached the sideline, she hugged Mittie and held it for about 10 seconds. Then she embraced her coaches and teammates, who all stood to greet her.

“Just trying to keep it together,” Goth said.

For the others, there is next season. They will be back in hopes of surpassing what they did this season.

Not Goth and Jones.

Their careers are over. Their final game was an 84-54 loss to No. 8-seed Michigan in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center. Goth scored eight points and dished six assists, while Jones scored two points and grabbed three rebounds.

Just like that, it’s done. They’ll never play another college basketball game. They’ll never put on a K-State jersey again.

“Sucks we didn’t go out on a good note, but there’s only one team at the end of this that gets to go out on a good note,” Goth said. “It happens, it’s the way life works. It sucks, but I’m proud of this team.”

Goth and Jones took different journeys to Manhattan.

Goth came to K-State as a freshman, then became a top contributor in her final two years. Jones transferred in from a junior college and played two years for the Wildcats.

“It’s been awesome,” Jones said. “When I got the offer to play at Big 12, I was shocked and ecstatic. To put it on these past two years is amazing.”

Goth said she wants her teammates to remember her and Jones’ leadership. She wants the younger players to push next year’s freshmen. She hopes they make an NCAA Tournament run.

Jones, humble as always, said Goth was the “nitty gritty” of leading the team. On the other hand, Jones said she worked behind the scenes on chemistry, always making sure everyone was happy.

Maybe more than anything, Goth wants the teammates she’s leaving to be good people.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the best player on the floor or the last person off the bench,” she said, “you still have to have good character.”

Both Goth and Jones will go out together, with this run as their departing act. The Wildcats had NCAA Tournament expectations this season, but up until a month ago, they weren’t in the mix.

K-State won five straight to end the regular season, then captured a victory in the conference tournament. In that stretch, the Wildcats, led by Goth and Jones, showed grit.

Jones said she’ll always remember looking up at the scoreboard in a couple of the road games near the end of the season and seeing her team down double digits. She smiles about it now, because K-State notched comeback victories at Texas, TCU and Oklahoma State.

“I’ll always remember (the run),” Jones said.

Sophomore guard Rachel Ranke, who will be looked upon as a leader next season, became a bit emotional when speaking about Goth and Jones.

“I can’t even explain what Kayla has done for this program and for me, just as a player myself,” she said. “Losing her is going to be hard, but I feel like with her leadership and her role on this team, she has taught our younger players how to adapt in situations and how to overcome adversity in tough times. ... It’s going to be a big role, it’s going to be hard to fill for sure. But I think our girls are ready.”

She then said Jones is one of her best friends.

“I’ll remember everything about her,” Ranke said. “Just her courage and how far she came. She’s come a long way. ... There’s just not enough words that can describe what she did just in her two years here.”

Goth said she’s open to the WNBA. Jones will head back home and pursue a master’s degree at San Diego State.

After the loss to Michigan, Goth had an ice bag on her left knee. Her body, she said, hurts from four years of college basketball.

“And I think I will for the rest of my life,” she laughed.

But she’ll have lifelong memories about it. She knows it’s a dream for a lot of people.

She’s just one of the lucky ones that lived it out.

“Just getting to play in front of people,” Goth said. “Getting to play in front of fans and for my teammates and for people. Just trying to do everything I can to make sure this program succeeds and leave any sort of legacy for these girls to help them move forward.”