Iowa State guard Kelsey Joens (23) grabs the ball from Arizona State center Nevaeh Parkinson (32) during the first quarter at Mullett Arena in Tempe on Jan. 8, 2025. © Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — Minutes matter.
That, in a nutshell, is how Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly described sophomore guard Kelsey Joens’ wide-ranging contributions during his team’s two-game win streak in Arizona last week.
Joens — a former West Liberty standout — didn’t produce the gaudiest stat lines, but her trademark tenacity fueled the Cyclones (12-6, 3-2 Big 12) in a pair of critical victories in advance of Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. matchup with Texas Tech (12-6, 1-4) at Hilton Coliseum.
“She’s always gonna play hard,” Fennelly said. “She’s learning that it’s OK to pass and you don’t have to shoot to be effective. She’s always gonna go rebound. Defensively, I thought she was much better in both games. You’ve got to eat up minutes somehow, and if you’re eating up minutes through effort, energy, activity, sometimes that’s enough.”
Joens scored eight points in 20 minutes on Saturday in the 79-58 win at Arizona. She grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists in a season-high 34 minutes of Wednesday’s 90-83 win at Arizona State. Joens drained three of her six 3-point attempts in the games and blocked a shot in each win. So she did a little of everything as her role expanded significantly.
“Just doing whatever the team needs me to do — rebounding, making shots,” Joens said. “They trust me and I’m happy that they put their trust in me.”
That togetherness-based bond never waned even as the Cyclones struggled to hit open 3-pointers for much of the first half of the season. ISU drained 20 of its 42 3-point attempts (47.6 percent) in the wins in the desert, and transfer guard Sydney Harris went a combined 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.
“That was big for us,” said Cyclones star center Audi Crooks, who led her team in scoring for 14 straight games before Harris exploded for 24 points against the Wildcats. “I’ve kind of been kicking it out regardless of if they go in or not, but I believe in them. Sometimes self-doubt, especially with the guards, can get to them a little bit, so it was good to see them winning out (there).”
Fennelly stopped short of saying the two wins would create a massive momentum shift, because the schedule has become so unbalanced with 16 teams in the league. But his players have clearly responded forcefully after a disappointing home loss to No. 23 Utah last Sunday.
“I don’t think there’s any question if we didn’t go to Arizona and play the way that we played the tenor of (Monday’s media availability) would be a lot different,” said Fennelly, whose team has surged into a tie for sixth in the Big 12 standings. “But I just feel it’s really hard to quantify the rhythm of the schedule because you only play three teams twice.”
That’s life in the new-look Big 12. Some seasons the schedule may break your way, while others it won’t. The Cyclones weather that uncertainty by adopting what Fennelly calls a “boring” but necessary short-term mentality where no game matters more than any other — and every opponent is “nameless and faceless.”
“You don’t try harder if it’s team ‘A’ or team ‘B,’” Crooks said. “Or you don’t care less if you think you’re gonna win and roll somebody over. You’ve got to approach it the same way every week.”
Just as Jones does with her precious time on the court.
“Her minutes were productive,” Fennelly said. “And that’s why she got a lot of playing time.”
