Ashley, Aubrey Joens out for Iowa State women's basketball vs. Texas on Wednesday

Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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AMES — The Iowa State women’s basketball team will be without its biggest stars for one of its biggest games this season.

Senior Ashley Joens and her younger sister Aubrey are both expected to miss Wednesday night’s game between No. 7 Iowa State and No. 14 Texas at Hilton Coliseum at 6:30 p.m., according to multiple sources close to the situation.

The two have will miss the game due to COVID-19 related issues.

It’s a crushing blow for Iowa State, which is off to a historic start to the season and has put itself in prime position to compete for a Big 12 Conference regular season title. The Cyclones, who are 16-1 this season and 5-0 in league play, are off to the best start in program history and sit in first play in the Big 12 standings.

Ashley Joens leads Iowa State in scoring and rebounds this season.
Ashley Joens leads Iowa State in scoring and rebounds this season.

Ashley Joens is a big reason why. The 6-foot-1 Joens leads the team in scoring (20.3 points per game) and rebounds (9.5 rebounds per game) and is one of four players nationally who are averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds per game. Aubrey, a sophomore, has been a big contributor as well and averages 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

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The timing couldn’t be worse for Iowa State, which will try to snap a three-game losing streak to the Longhorns who were the only Big 12 team to sweep the Cyclones during their two games in the regular season. Texas also took down Iowa State in an overtime win during the Big 12 Tournament.

There are high hopes for both teams which were picked to finish tied for second in the Big 12 before the season started. There’s already a lot on the line for Iowa State which has rattled off nine-straight wins. Another victory would mark only the eighth 10-game winning streak in school history and first since the 2013-14 season when the Cyclones won 14-straight.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's basketball without Ashley, Aubrey Joens vs. Texas