WATCH: Sister of Iowa State’s Ashley Joens Won $6,600 at Big 12 Championship
Sunday's Big 12 Women's Tournament Championship Game truly was a family affair. While only one member of the Joens family was playing in the game, two of them put the ball in the basket. Repeatedly.
The Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball team won the Big 12 Title over #15 Texas on Sunday by a final of 61-51. Senior Ashley Joens was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 20+ points in three straight games. On Sunday, she poured in 28 points and snared 10 rebounds. It was the 15th double-double of her career.
Ashley's sister, Courtney Joens, was cheering on the Cyclones in Kansas City on Sunday and got a unique opportunity. According to the Des Moines Register, a rep for a halftime contest was looking for a contestant. The rep came into the section Courtney was sitting in and asked who could make a 3-pointer. Courtney, who made 90 of them while playing college basketball at the University of Illinois, said she absolutely could.
The contest rep then asked about hitting a half-court shot. Courtney answered affirmatively again.
Courtney ended up getting picked, but there was still one more hurdle before actually competing. Cyclone guard Emily Ryan's brother also said he could make all the shots. So he and Courtney each had to pick a number between 0 and 100. Courtney won that contest and took to the floor at halftime.
In order to win $6,600 in free gasoline from Phillips 66, Courtney had to hit a layup, free throw, 3-pointer, and half-court shot in an allotted time period. The half-court shot provided difficult, but not impossible for Courtney Joens:
When asked about her older sister cashing in while Iowa State was in the locker room, Ashley Joens said, "I think she should give me 50 percent of the money because I'm the only reason she's here." There's no word on whether Courtney shared her winnings with her younger sister.
Courtney Joens is the head girls basketball coach at West Liberty. She just completed her first season, leading the Comets to a 17-7 record.