Iowa State earned multiple Big 12 awards Wednesday

Iowa State freshman Lexi Donarski gets ready to shoot against Kansas on Feb. 17 at Allen Fieldhouse. 

Megan Teske

The Iowa State women’s basketball team took home multiple Big 12 awards when they were announced Wednesday.

Most notable of the bunch was freshman guard Lexi Donarski, who was named the unanimous Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Donarski, hailing from La Crosse, Wisconsin, was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and Head Coach Bill Fennelly said she lived up to those expectations.

Donarski was one of three freshmen who started for the Cyclones this season and she averaged 13.1 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. She also took in 3.3 rebounds per game, handed out 2 assists per game and shot 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.

While Donarski is honored by the award, she said the team is still not done.

“It means a lot, but we still have a lot of stuff to accomplish the rest of the year,” Donarski said.

Along with Donarski on the All-Freshman Team was freshman guard Emily Ryan, who was another unanimous selection.

Ryan was another constant freshman in the lineup for the Cyclones and she averaged 7.6 points per game, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds. Her 5.7 assists rank second in the Big 12, and according to the Iowa State press release, Ryan’s 143 assists on the season is an Iowa State freshman record.

Junior guard Ashley Joens was another who earned a unanimous selection, grabbing a spot on the First-Team All-Big 12 for the second season in a row. With her average of 23.4 points per game, Joens led the Big 12 in scoring while shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from the 3-point line and 90.1 percent from the charity stripe.

Joens also brought in nine rebounds per game. According to the press release, her 23.4 points per game surpassed Bridget Carleton’s scoring average record of 21.7 points per game from the 2018-19 season.

Fennelly said it is one thing to be on an all-conference team, but another to be a unanimous selection.

“That’s where every single coach says, ‘I don’t want to play against that,’” Fennelly said.

Senior forward Kristin Scott was the last to grab a Big 12 award, earning a place on the Second-Team All-Big 12 for the second time. Scott averaged 11.7 points per game on 50.2 percent shooting from the field and 41.9 percent shooting from three. She also grabbed 5.9 boards per game and picked up 27 blocks over the course of the season.

Iowa State is set to take on Texas at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Big 12 Tournament. The game will be available to watch on ESPNU.