Ashley Joens Joins Brittney Griner as Only Big 12 Players to Score 3,000 Points
There are only 14 players in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to score 3,000 points. There are only two players in Big 12 Conference women’s basketball history to score 3,000 points. Iowa State guard Ashley Joens is now one of those two.
The Cyclones phenom eclipsed that threshold in an 82-72 win over No. 2 seed Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon. It came on a step-back jumper early in the third quarter of the triumph.
In the contest, Joens poured in a game-high 22 points. But it came on only 7-of-21 shooting and 2-of-10 firing from long range.
Still, as her rank in history and the sheer point total would suggest, Joens is hard to handle for any team, as are guard Lexi Donarski and forward Nyamer Diew. They certainly were hard to handle for Oklahoma in this one. Donarksi and Diew did shoot well, connecting on a combined 13-of-21 attempts for 20 and 19, respectively. And that production was truly too much for the Sooners to overcome.
Joens entered the postseason leading the Big 12 and ranked 13th nationally with her 21 points per game. She managed double figures in 27 of 28 regular-season contests, finishing with 20 or more in 16 of those. She recorded 13 double-doubles during what’s been a remarkable final season in Ames.
Now she and the rest of the Cyclones will get a chance to hoist the Big 12 Tournament Championship trophy, if they’re able to secure one more win. Tip off in the championship against top-seeded Texas is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
