WATCH: Ashley Joens Reacts to WNBA Draft Selection
Former Iowa State star Ashley Joens is off to the WNBA, selected by the Dallas Wings 19th overall Monday evening. And rightfully so, she was ecstatic.
“You get a little nervous waiting and you don’t know where you’re going, but it’s really exciting when you hear your name called,” Joens said in a Zoom call with reporters Monday night, via the Des Moines Register. “You get to go on stage, take your picture and get to know where you’re going now. Obviously, with Steph [Soares] going there, it’s really exciting I get to play with her again.”
Joens finished her career as one of only two Big 12 players to ever score 3,000-plus points. Joining former Baylor star Brittney Griner in that feat, Joens racked up 3,060 points while shooting 42.5% from the field, including 35.9% from 3-point range.
“I’ve seen a lot of strides in her ballhandling ability,” said ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson in advance of the draft. “She’s already a great rebounder, just a tireless worker. She reminds me a lot of Penny Taylor, the WNBA great, because she can play inside and outside.”
She was one of two Cyclones invited to attend the WNBA Draft. The other was Soares, the fourth overall pick who will team up with Joens in Dallas once again after her lone season with Iowa State was cut short due to injuries.
Joens and the Cyclones are coming off a season in which they won the Big 12 Tournament title for the first time in more than 20 seasons but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Toledo.
A two-time All-American and three-time recipient of the Cheryl Miller Award, Joens joins a group of more than a dozen Cyclones taken in the WNBA Draft, dating back to 2000. But until tonight, Alison Lacey, at No. 10 overall by the Seattle Storm in 2010, was the only player in program history to be taken in the first round.
Other Cyclones drafted include Desirée Francis (2000, 2nd Round, 29th Overall, New York Liberty), Stacy Frese (2000, 3rd Round, 35th Overall, Utah Starzz), Megan Taylor (2001, 4th Round, 55th Overall, Minnesota Lynx), Angie Welle, (2002, 2nd Round, 31st Overall, Cleveland Rockers), Tracy Gahan (2002, 3rd Round, 46th Overall, Cleveland Rockers), Lindsey Wilson (2003, 3rd Round, 34th Overall, Connecticut Sun), Anne O’Neil (2005, 3rd Round, 30th Overall, Sacramento Monarchs), Lyndsey Medders (2007, 2nd Round, 22nd Overall, Indiana Fever), Kelsey Bolte (2011, 3rd Round, 32nd Overall – Atlanta Dream), Chelsea Poppens (2013, 2nd Round, 18th Overall, Seattle Storm), Anne Prins (2013, 2nd Round, 23rd Overall, Connecticut Sun), Nikki Moody (2015, 3rd Round, 33rd Overall, San Antonio Stars) and Bridget Carleton (2019, 2nd Round, 21st Overall, Connecticut Sun).
