 Joens withIowa State in 2021 | |
| No. 2 – Athinaikos B.C. | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward /shooting guard |
| League | Greek Women's Basketball League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (2000-03-16)March 16, 2000 (age 25) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Iowa City (Iowa City, Iowa) |
| College | Iowa State (2018–2023) |
| WNBA draft | 2023: 2nd round, 19th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Dallas Wings |
| Playing career | 2023–present |
| Career history | |
| 2023 | Dallas Wings |
| 2023 | Las Vegas Aces |
| 2023 | Dallas Wings |
| 2023 | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2023–2024 | Dinamo Sassari |
| 2024 | Tauranga Whai |
| 2025 | Athinaikos |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Medals | |
Ashley Rose Joens (/ˈdʒoʊnz/Jones; born March 16, 2000) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for theAthinaikos of theGreek Women's Basketball League. She playedcollege basketball for theIowa State Cyclones of theBig 12 Conference. She plays both thesmall forward andshooting guard positions. Joens had been considered one of the top prospects in the 2022WNBA draft,[1] but chose not to enter the draft and returned for a fifth season in 2022–23.[2]
Joens attendedIowa 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 namedMiss Iowa Basketball at season's end.[4]
A five-star recruit out of high school, Joens committed to playingcollege basketball atIowa State, and was the program's highest rated recruit in history.[5][6]
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.
In her sophomore season, Joens saw a more expanded role as she led theBig 12 Conference in points per game with 20.5, and also added 10.9 rebounds per game to average adouble-double. She scored a career-high 41 points againstWright State on December 11, 2019, tied for second for a single-game scoring record by an Iowa State player.[7]
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 theCOVID-19 pandemic to stay in shape.[8] She scored 36 points in a loss toSouth Dakota State, also earning her 19th double-double of the season.[9]
In the opening round of theNCAA tournament, Joens scored 33 points to help lead the Cyclones pastMichigan State 79–76.[10] In their next match againstTexas A&M, Joens recorded adouble-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 theCheryl Miller Award, given to the best small forward in college basketball, as well as a third-teamAll-American by theUnited States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).[13][14]
As a senior in2021–22, Joens became the Cyclones' all-time scoring leader, averaging 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds while the Cyclones reached the Sweet Sixteen of theNCAA 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 majorAll-America teams, making the Associated Press[17] and USBWA second teams[18] and the 10-member team chosen by theWomen's Basketball Coaches Association.[19]
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[a] 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 theconference player of the year.[21] During theBig 12 tournament, Joens became the 14th player in NCAA Division I women's history toscore 3,000 career points,[22] and was named the tournament's most outstanding player after leading the Cyclones to the title.[23]
In December 2022, Joens completed her bachelor's degree in elementary education.[24]
After the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Joens andTCU football starMax 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".[25]
Joens was selected 19th overall in the second round of the2023 WNBA draft by theDallas Wings.[26] She was waived by the Wings on June 23, 2023.[27]
On July 20, Joens signed with theLas Vegas Aces on an emergency waiver contract.[28][29] She appeared in two games for the Aces. On August 6, she returned to the Wings on a seven-day contract.[30] On August 18, she signed with thePhoenix Mercury.[31][32]
Joens joinedDinamo Sassari of the ItalianSerie A1 for the 2023–24 season.[33]
Joens joined theTauranga Whai for the 2024Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa season. She helped the Whai win the league championship.[34] She was named Tauihi All-Star Five.[35]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Las Vegas | 2 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | .000 | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Dallas | 9 | 0 | 1.6 | .250 | .000 | .250 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Phoenix | 8 | 0 | 13.4 | .387 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.5 | |
| Career | 1 year, 3 teams | 19 | 0 | 6.7 | .361 | .435 | .500 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.1 |
Joens was a member of theU-18 team for their appearance in the2018 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.[36] She was also a member of the U-19 team that won the gold medal for theFIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Bangkok.[37]
Joens was invited to participate in the Women's AmeriCup Team Trials in 2021.[38]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Iowa State | 35 | 35 | 31.2 | .433 | .365 | .701 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 11.7 |
| 2019–20 | Iowa State | 29 | 29 | 35.6 | .417 | .336 | .806 | 10.9 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 20.5° |
| 2020–21 | Iowa State | 28 | 28 | 33.6 | .463 | .354 | .883 | 9.5 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 24.2° |
| 2021–22 | Iowa State | 34 | 34 | 35.5 | .409 | .376 | .852 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 20.9 |
| 2022–23 | Iowa State | 32 | 32 | 35.8 | .411 | .353 | .836 | 9.7 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 21.5° |
| Career | 158 | 158 | 34.3 | .425 | .359 | .831 | 8.8 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 19.4 | |
Joens is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Joens, and has four sisters.[39] Her older sister Courtney played basketball atIllinois while her younger sister Aubrey played basketball alongside her for two seasons at Iowa State[40][41] before transferring toOklahoma after the 2021–22 season.[42]
and Basketball Reference 
