Midway though the fourth quarter of Monday night's 95-78 loss to Central Michigan, as the Buckeyes tried helplessly to mount an impossible comeback, Kelsey Mitchell hit a layup for her 20th point of the game, giving her enough career points to pass Missouri State's Jackie Stiles for second on the NCAA all-time scoring list.
It was unceremonious and few people in the arena even knew it happened, especially Mitchell, who was just minutes away from the end of her storied Buckeye career. But even if she would have known, she would not have cared. Her team was losing, and that's all that ever mattered.
"We lost," Mitchell said when asked about what passing Stiles meant to her following the game.
"That's all I have to say about that," she added to break a long, awkward silence.
That brief moment in her final postgame interview was a microcosm of her entire career at Ohio State. She was almost always the best player on the court, but that never mattered to her if the Buckeyes weren't the best team.
Mitchell undoubtedly leaves Ohio State as one of, if not the greatest player in program history
She's the Big Ten and Ohio State's all-time leading scorer, accounting for the program's four highest-scoring seasons. She's responsible for the team's top four highest scoring games of all-time and set a program record for most points in an NCAA Tournament game.
Her numbers stack up nationally, as well. Her first season, she became the first freshman in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring. Now, she's finishes her career second on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring charts, has made more three-pointers than anyone in NCAA history and has the most consecutive games with a made three-pointer.
She's been nominated for national Player of the Year awards every season at Ohio State, including this one, and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year three out of four years.
That individual success and those personal accolades are unmatched by anyone in program history, but the most impressive thing about Mitchell is that she genuinely does not care about the awards or honors if they don't come with team success.
“She’s focused on one thing and won thing only – and that’s winning, and winning as much as she can,” head coach Kevin McGuff said of Mitchell's mentality.
I'll never forget at the end of my first season covering the team during the 2015-16 season – Mitchell's sophomore season – we had a media opportunity to talk to the players about their Big Ten recognition. Mitchell had just been named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second-straight time. But she had no idea.
"I'm sorry, which accolades are you referring to?" She asked genuinely and innocently after the first question.
Shortly after, Cait Craft explained to me that they don't usually even bother to tell her things like that anymore because they know she doesn't care. She said she's usually the one who gets excited on Kelsey's behalf, though.
That's who Kelsey Mitchell is. It's not feigned modesty. She's not just humble because she thinks it's the right the to do. She just genuinely does not care about how she does individually in comparison to team success.
As she walked off the court one last time on Monday night, tears rolled down her face as she was overcome with emotion. When asked if she could describe what she was feeling at the time, she offered an honest, blunt and teary response: "No. I can't."
In reality, it was probably bittersweet, with an extra dose of bitter.
Mitchell enjoyed her four years at Ohio State, she loves the game of basketball more than anyone I've ever met and had absurd success playing in a Buckeye uniform.
But leaving the court for the final time, losing one final time, and knowing her team never made it past the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in her career, certainly did not sit right with her. Because after all she's accomplished at Ohio State in her four years, that's what matters most to her.
Kelsey Mitchell has had unparalleled individual success during her time in Columbus, but she would gladly trade every bit of it for a team championship. That unselfishness, more than any of her accolades, makes her one of the greatest to put on a Buckeye uniform.
