Ashley Joens
Joens with Iowa State in 2021
No. 24 – Phoenix Mercury
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-03-16) March 16, 2000
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolIowa City
(Iowa City, Iowa)
CollegeIowa State (2018–2023)
WNBA draft2023: 2nd round, 19th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Wings
Career history
2023Dallas Wings
2023Las Vegas Aces
2023Dallas Wings
2023-presentPhoenix Mercury
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place2019 ThailandTeam
FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place2018 MexicoTeam

Ashley Joens (/ˈdʒoʊnz/ Jones; born March 16, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. She played her college basketball at Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference. She plays both the small forward and shooting guard positions. Joens had been considered one of the top prospects in the 2022 WNBA draft,[1] but chose not to enter the draft and returned for a fifth season in 2022–23.[2]

High school career

Joens attended Iowa City High School, where she was a two-sport athlete in basketball and track and field. In basketball, she played on the varsity team all four years and started every single game, eventually becoming the school's all-time leader in points.[3] As a high school senior, she averaged 30.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game and was also named Miss Iowa Basketball at season's end.[4]

A five-star recruit out of high school, Joens committed to playing college basketball at Iowa State, and was the program's highest rated recruit in history.[5][6]

College career

Freshman season

As a highly touted freshman, Joens appeared and started in all 35 games the Cyclones played that season, averaging nearly 12 points per game. She scored double figures in 20 games, and was named to the Big 12's All-Freshman team at the end of the season.

Sophomore season

In her sophomore season, Joens saw a more expanded role as she led the Big 12 Conference in points per game with 20.5, and also added 10.9 rebounds per game to average a double-double. She scored a career-high 41 points against Wright State on December 11, 2019, tied for second for a single-game scoring record by an Iowa State player.[7]

Junior season

Joens continued to improve as she broke the Iowa State program's single-season record for points per game with 24.2, training in the barn of a family friend during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay in shape.[8] She scored 36 points in a loss to South Dakota State, also earning her 19th double-double of the season.[9]

In the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Joens scored 33 points to help lead the Cyclones past Michigan State 79–76.[10] In their next match against Texas A&M, Joens recorded a double-double with 32 points and 18 rebounds in an overtime loss, becoming the 4th player from the Big 12 Conference to record 30+ points and 15+ rebounds in an NCAA tournament game.[11][12]

In addition to being named to the first-team All-Big 12 Conference team, Joens gained national recognition at the end of the season as she was named the 2021 recipient of the Cheryl Miller Award, given to the best small forward in college basketball, as well as a third-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).[13][14]

Senior season

As a senior in 2021–22, Joens became the Cyclones' all-time scoring leader, averaging 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds while the Cyclones reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.[2] She was a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection[15] and repeated as the Cheryl Miller Award recipient.[16] Joens was named to all three major All-America teams, making the Associated Press[17] and USBWA second teams[18] and the 10-member team chosen by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.[19]

"Super senior" season

Shortly after the Cyclones' 2022 NCAA tournament run ended, Joens announced that she would forego the WNBA draft and return for a fifth season at Iowa State. Because the 2020–21 basketball season had been extensively disrupted by COVID-19, the NCAA had ruled that said season would not be counted against the athletic eligibility of any basketball player, giving her the option of an extra college season.[2] Joens was named to the six-member AP preseason All-America team[lower-alpha 1] on October 25, 2022.[20] She went on to lead the Big 12 in scoring and rank third in rebounding during the conference season, and was named the conference player of the year.[21] During the Big 12 tournament, Joens became the 14th player in NCAA Division I women's history to score 3,000 career points,[22] and was named the tournament's most outstanding player after leading the Cyclones to the title.[23]

After the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Joens and TCU football star Max Duggan were announced as the inaugural recipients of the Big 12 Conference's Bob Bowlsby Award. The award, voted on by Big 12 athletic directors, honors on- and off-field leadership and excellence across all sports and is described by the Big 12 as "the Conference's most prestigious individual accolade".[24]

Professional career

Dallas Wings

Joens was selected 19th overall in the second round of the 2023 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.[25] She made the Opening Night roster for the Wings. On June 23, 2023, Joens was waived by the Wings.[26]

Las Vegas Aces

The Las Vegas Aces signed Joens to an emergency waiver contract in July 2023.[27][28] Joens signed a 2nd 7-Day Contract with the Aces on July 26th. After the 7 days were up, Joens was not signed again.

Return to Dallas

Following her stint in Vegas, Joens returned to Dallas on a 7-Day Contract for the Wings.[29] Following the 7 days, Joens was not signed back.

Phoenix Mercury

Joens signed a 7-Day Contract with the Phoenix Mercury on August 18, 2023. She appeared in one game with the Mercury, before being released from the contract on August 20, 2023. She returned to the Mercury a few days later, again on a 7-Day Contract.

National team career

Joens was a member of the U-18 team for their appearance in the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Women's Americas Championship, winning a gold medal as the captain of the team despite not being named to the initial roster.[30] She was also a member of the U-19 team that won the gold medal for the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Bangkok.[31]

Joens was invited to participate in the Women's AmeriCup Team Trials in 2021.[32]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018–19 Iowa State 353531.2.433.365.7015.00.70.70.21.111.7
2019–20 Iowa State 292935.6.417.336.80610.91.91.60.32.720.5°
2020–21 Iowa State 282833.6.463.354.8839.51.61.00.52.524.2°
2021–22 Iowa State 343435.5.409.376.8529.52.00.90.42.120.9
2022–23 Iowa State 323235.8.411.353.8369.72.01.10.32.221.5°
Career 15815834.3.425.359.8318.81.61.00.42.119.4

Personal life

Joens is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Joens, and has four sisters.[33] Her older sister Courtney played basketball at Illinois while her younger sister Aubrey played basketball alongside her for two seasons at Iowa State[34][35] before transferring to Oklahoma after the 2021–22 season.[36]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The preseason All-America team normally has five members, but had six in 2022 due to a tie in voting for the fifth slot.

References

  1. ↑ "Who's next? The top 15 2022 WNBA Draft prospects, from Rhyne Howard to Cate Reese". The Athletic. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Voepel, M.A. (March 28, 2022). "Iowa State star Ashley Joens to forgo WNBA draft, return for fifth season with Cyclones". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ashley Joens Breaks All-Time Scoring Record". The Little Hawk. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Ashley Joens is Miss Iowa Basketball 2018". The Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "City High's Ashley Joens commits to Iowa State". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Women's basketball: Basketball Joens — The upbringing, recruitment and future of Ashley Joens". Ames Tribune. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Ashley Joens puts up 41 points in Iowa State's win over Wright State". The Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "How Ashley Joens' efforts to becoming an elite Big 12 player took shape in an Iowa barn". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Joens' Big Day Not Enough for No. 15 ISU at SDSU". Iowa State University Athletics. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Joens scores 33, leads Iowa St. women past Michigan St 79-75". Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Cyclones fall short in overtime despite huge 3-point performance". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  12. ↑ ESPN Stats & Info [@ESPNStatsInfo] (March 25, 2021). "Ashley Joens finished with 32 pts & 18 rebs tonight in a loss to 2 seed Texas A&M. Joens became the 4th Big 12 player with 30 pts and 15 rebs in an NCAA Tournament game since 2000, joining Courtney Paris (2x), Brittney Griner, and Lauren Cox" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "Basketball Hall of Fame & Women's Basketball Coaches Association Announce Winners of Women's Naismith Starting Five Awards". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (Press release). Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Joens Named USBWA Third-Team All-American". Iowa State University Athletics. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Basketball Hall of Fame & Women's Basketball Coaches Association Announce Winners of Women's Naismith Starting Five Awards" (Press release). Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Associated Press' All-America team includes Kentucky Wildcats' Rhyne Howard, 9th women's basketball player ever to earn third first-team honors". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  18. ↑ "USBWA Names 2021-22 Women's All-America Team" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Wade Trophy Winner Aliyah Boston Headlines 2022 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Team" (Press release). Women's Basketball Coaches Association. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark lead AP's preseason All-America team". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  21. ↑ "2022-23 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  22. ↑ Voepel, M.A. (March 11, 2023). "Ashley Joens reaches 3,000 points, puts Iowa St. in Big 12 final". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Joens, Iowa State Beat Texas to win Phillips 66 Big 12 WBB Championship". Big 12 Conference. Associated Press. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ "ISU's Joens and TCU's Duggan Named Inaugural Bob Bowlsby Award Winners" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. July 12, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Joens Drafted By Dallas Wings In WNBA Draft". cyclones.com. Iowa State Athletics. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Dallas Wings Sign Odyssey Sims". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "Las Vegas Aces sign former Iowa State star Ashley Joens to emergency hardship contract". weareiowa.com. July 20, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  28. ↑ "Aces Sign Ashley Joens to Emergency Hardship Contract". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  29. ↑ "Dallas Wings Sign Ashley Joens". wings.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  30. ↑ "Women's basketball: Ames, Colorado, Mexico and Costa Rica — the jam-packed summer of Ashley Joens". Ames Tribune. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  31. ↑ "Ashley Joens Added to USA Women's U19 World Cup Team". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Ashley Joens receives invite to Women's AmeriCup Team Trials". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Women's basketball recruiting: Iowa State commit Aubrey Joens next in line for storied family". ESPN. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Joens girls a force for City High basketball". The Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  35. ↑ "Sisters Aubrey and Ashley Joens excited for careers together at Iowa State". Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  36. ↑ Birch, Tommy (April 29, 2022). "Former Iowa State basketball guard Aubrey Joens transferring to Big 12 rival Oklahoma". Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
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