Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Ashley Joens posting an impressive stat line isn’t exactly breaking news these days.

The City High senior putting up huge point totals or breaking records has become a fairly common occurrence over the past several months.

Regardless of how accustomed fans, coaches and teammates have become to seeing Joens fill up the box score what the Iowa State recruit did in the first half last Friday against Waterloo East deserves another look.

Joens scored 40 points and grabbed 17 points in the first half of an eventual 84-26 win over the Trojans.

The 6-foot senior also had five steals, three assists and a pair of blocks all before halftime.

In the locker room was the first Joens realized the extent of her first-half dominance.

“Usually someone that has been on the bench when we go in the locker room ‘will say you are doing so great you have 40 points’,” Joens explained. “I honestly didn’t know. I don’t really look up at the scoreboard throughout the game.”

Joens played sparingly in the second half, finishing with a career-high 45 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks in the win.

She was 18-of-23 from the field, hitting all three of her 3-point attempts and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

“My teammates were getting me the ball when I was open and we were playing as a team,” Joens said. “It really helps when everyone can chip in and play hard.”

It was the most impressive in a long line of big performances for Joens who has scored 30 or more points nine times and has 15 double-doubles in 20 games this season.

“I don’t really think about it much,” Joens said. “I just go out there and play and what happens with that stuff happens.”

Joens enters Friday’s regular season finale with Dubuque Wahlert needing nine points to become the 19th player in the 5-on-5 era to reach 2,000 points for her career.

She is already the all-time, single-season and single game scoring leader at City High.

“I don’t really think about,” Joens said. “They are great honors but all I’m really thinking about is the next game and trying to get a state championship.”

The Postseason is Here

The postseason official begins this week for teams in Class 1A, 2A and 3A and a pair of area teams open regional play on Saturday.

West Branch (14-6) hosts Louisa-Muscatine (14-8) in a Class 2A, Region 5 opening round contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Solon (6-15) travels to No. 11 Monticello (16-5) Saturday for a Class 3A, Region 3 quarterfinal.

State's Top Scorers

As the regular season comes to a close Ashley Joens remains the state’s top scorer.

Joens is averaging a state-best 30.6 points per game, four points better than Western Christian senior and Nebraska signee Ashtyn Veerbeek (26.7).

Joens isn’t the only area player among the state’s top scorers with three of the top 12 scorers in the state reside in the Your Prep Sports coverage area.

Clear Creek Amana sophomore Karsyn Stratton and West Branch senior Tatum Koenig join Joens in the top 12 in the state in scoring.

Stratton ranks seventh in the state averaging 23 points per game while Koenig ranks 12th at 21.5 points per game.

Performances of the Week

City High sophomore Rose Nkumu had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 72-51 win over Moline.  

West High junior Lauren Zacharias had 15 points, six assists and four steals in an 83-33 win over Dubuque Senior.

Liberty High sophomore Cora Saunders had 21 points in a 55-48 win over West Delaware.

Regina senior Mary Crompton had 34 points and four rebounds in a 66-41 win over Camanche.

Clear Creek Amana sophomore Karsyn Stratton had 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a 47-28 win over Independence.

West Branch senior Tatum Koenig had 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a 67-29 win over West Liberty.