MINNEAPOLIS – Two has been a bittersweet number for the ISU women’s basketball team. Though exuberant to make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the team also loses two of the most successful and revered players who have worn a Cyclone uniform.

With its 76-56 loss to No. 14 Georgia on Monday night, No. 24 Iowa State completed its stellar 26-9 season, the third-most wins in school history, and was sent home from the tournament. Lyndsey Medders, Megan Ronhovde and Abby Reinert were sent home – permanently.

Though the game proved to be more of a one-sided ride, the aftermath was an emotional rollercoaster. ISU coach Bill Fennelly and his team will be saying good-bye to two of the most skilled players to grace the court of Hilton Coliseum.

“There are only two teams in the country that finish with a win, and that’s the winner of the NCAA and the winner of the WNIT,” Medders said. “What makes this hard is the way we ended it, how I ended it. Not playing with these girls again and not for him again [Fennelly], it’s hard.”

The seniors’ legacies will be captured not only by the thousands of fans who religiously followed the team, but in the record books as well. Medders caps her career as Iowa State’s assist leader with 719 dishes, as well as tied for ninth in the single-game scoring records and a member of the 1,000-point club.

Ronhovde became a member of that same club in the second half of the season. She is also ranked third on the career three-point chart with 223, and seventh on the career rebounding list.

The two helped take the Cyclones on a 9-11 run at the end of the season. The team also defeated higher seeds Nebraska and Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament to face Oklahoma in the title game. They topped Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to reach the next game, a feat that many other ISU players of their caliber never reached.

Records aside, it’s what the girls accomplished off the court as well that has impacted the people who know them.

“These seniors will be remembered for much, much more than how many games they won,” Fennelly said. “They are what an ISU student-athlete is all about. To their credit, they will be known as much as phenomenal people and graduates of ISU as they are for basketball.”

Ronhovde, a native of Barrett, Minn., was thankful to play her last game in her home state in front of her home ISU crowd.

“Tonight was a testament to how loyal our fans are,” she said. “It was neat to come back to Minneapolis to finish my career, and it’s something I’ll always remember.”

Besides the two leaders on the court, there has been an emotional leader on Iowa State’s sidelines as well. Reinert, a walk-on from Union, has been a fan favorite and picture of devotion to her team and school. Standing ovations followed her entrance into a game, including her final contest.

“It is a great accomplishment of these seniors to win 26 games and make the tournament,” Fennelly said. “Everyone showed such appreciation of not only Lyndsey and Megan’s careers, or this season, but what this group of people did for our university.”

The departure of the three influential seniors leaves only one senior for the spotlight next year – forward Toccara Ross. Her tearful summation of the role she has on her shoulders next year echoed the impact the seniors have made on the Cyclone family.

“As the only senior you’re forced to be a leader right away, and I have some pretty big shoes to fill next year,” she said. “I’ve learned so much in such a short amount of time from them, and I have to take every moment and apply it to the girls under me next year.”