FORT WORTH, TX – Ashley Joens poured in 33 points to lead No. 23 Iowa State (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) to a 91-68 victory over TCU (2-1, 0-1 Big 12) in ISU’s Big 12 opener on Wednesday night at Schollmaier Arena. The star junior connected on 10-of-15 field goal attempts, all 10 free throw attempts and pulled down 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
How It Happened
The Cyclones set the tone early in Fort Worth, scoring the game’s first 10 points, including 3-pointers by Ashley Joens and Emily Ryan. For Joens, it was the first of three first-quarter triples, as she tallied 13 points while making all five of her field goal attempts in the opening 10 minutes. In total, the Cyclone offense shot 63.2 percent from the field in the opening period to race out to a 28-10 advantage.
Iowa State’s offense continued to roll, knocking down five more triples in the second quarter. Aubrey Joens came off the bench to score nine points in the quarter, knocking down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, spearheading the Cyclone sharpshooting. ISU extended its lead to 54-32 on an Ashley Joens and-one with less than 10 seconds to play in the half. The Cyclones ended the half 9-of-18 on 3-point attempts.
TCU put together a 12-4 spurt to open the third quarter, cutting the Cyclone lead to 58-44 with 4:40 to play in the period. The Cyclones missed eight straight field goal attempts during the stretch. However, that was as close as the Horned Frogs would get in the second half, as Ashley Joens tallied six straight points for the Cyclones to extend the lead back to 20. Freshman Lexi Donarski knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to put Iowa State in front 75-52 with 10 minutes to play.
The Cyclones started the fourth quarter just 1-of-13 from the field, but were able to cruise to victory. Morgan Kane scored six points off the bench in the final period as Iowa State left Fort Worth with the 91-68 victory.
Players of Note
Ashley Joens was dominant once again, scoring her 33 points on an ultra-efficient 10-of-15 shooting effort. The junior’s game-high 11 rebounds included five on the offensive glass. She also tallied a block and a steal in 37 minutes of action.
Kristin Scott tallied 15 points on the night as Iowa State’s second-leading scorer. Scott went 4-of-4 at the charity stripe and pulled down five rebounds and had one block.
Up Next
The Cyclones return home to battle No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
