Your Prep Sports

With graduation a few weeks away City High senior Ashley Joens is still picking up high school basketball honors and the latest is a big one.

USA Basketball announced on Thursday that Joens was one of 36 players nationally to accept an invitation to the 2018 Women’s U18 National Team trials later this month.

Joens was a first-team all-state selection, was named Miss Iowa Basketball by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association and earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors after leading the state in scoring.

An Iowa State signee, Joens averaged 30.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as a senior while directing City High to a 25-1 record and a Class 5A runner-up finish.

The 5-foot-11 guard shot 62 percent from the field, including 60 percent from beyond the 3-point arc this season and averaged 3.3 steals and 3 assists per game.

A top-20 national recruit by ESPN, Joens was selected to compete in the Jordan Brand All-Star Classic in New York last month.

National Team trials will take place May 26-28 at the Unite State Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“I think we’ve invited a very deep and talented group of players to the U18 trials,” Chair of the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee Jennifer Rizzotti said in a release. “There is a good mix of players and diversity within positions. I feel the committee invited a good balance of players at every position, with and without USA basketball experience.” 

Joens is one of three Iowa natives to accept an invitation to the trials joining Indianola senior Grace Berg and West Des Moines Valley junior Zoe Young.

Berg is a 6-foot-1 Missouri recruit while Young, a 5-foot-10 point guard is committed to Maryland.

The 12-member 2017 USA Women’s U18 National Team will be announced on May 28 and will be coached by Louisville head coach Jeff Walz along with Natasha Adair of the University of Delaware and Cori Close of UCLA serving as assistants.