No. 7 Iowa State women roll past Columbia 99-76, move to 4-0

By ANDREW LOGUE
Associated Press

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Ashley Joens had 33 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 7 Iowa State rolled past Columbia 99-76 on Sunday to improve to 4-0.

Joens made 9 of 14 shots, including 7 of 10 from 3-point range, while recording the 52nd double-double of her college career.

“She’s showing she’s comfortable on the perimeter a little bit more, which when she becomes a pro, that’s where she’ll play,” Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly said. “I think she’s been very efficient. Her shot attempts are going down and her makes are going up.”

Stephanie Soares added 15 points for Iowa State on 7-of-10 shooting. Emily Ryan finished with 13 points.

“Obviously, every game you play you’re going to learn a little bit more about yourself,” Joens said. “We know every game, even if you win, you need to improve.”

Abbey Hsu led Columbia (3-2) with 24 points.

Iowa State seized control early, hitting five of its first six shots and jumping to an 11-3 lead.

A 3-pointer from Joens extended the margin to 24-11. Joens scored 14 points in the first quarter, making all five of her shots, including all four tries from 3-point range.

A basket from Soares gave the Cyclones a 36-20 advantage in the second quarter. A 3-pointer from Denae Fritz made it 50-30.

Iowa State could break into the top five of this week’s rankings. The highest the school has ever reached was No. 4 on Dec. 31, 2001.

“It means a lot, just to be able to say that we were ranked that high,” Joens said. “It shows not only what we think about our team, but what other people think about our team as well.”

Columbia was seeking its first win over an AP Top 25 opponent but fell to 0-12 against ranked foes.

“This was our first top-ten matchup that we’ve ever been against,” Columbia guard Sienna Durr said. “So we knew it was going to be really tough competition. We’re training for March right now. We’re just training to play against the best of the best.”

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State will likely move up in the AP poll after reaching 4-0 for the second straight season. Joens continues to validate her status as a national player of the year candidate, having scored more than 20 points in three of four games while averaging double figures in rebounds.

UP NEXT

Iowa State travels to Portland, Oregon, where it will face Michigan State in a holiday tournament Thursday night. Columbia will play Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday in Miami.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25