This season, senior Bridget Carleton will have a shadow that stands one inch shorter than her 6-foot-1 frame.

Her shadow, true freshman Ashley Joens, was told by coach Bill Fennelly to do so.

“I told Ashley to basically follow Bridget around,” Fennelly said. “Do what Bridget does, act like Bridget acts, do those kinds of things and Ashley wants to be that type of player.”

Carleton was an Honorable Mention All-American last year and led Iowa State in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and 3-pointers made.

In high school, Joens was named Iowa’s Gatorade Player of the Year and averaged 30.7 points and 11.4 rebounds playing for Iowa City High. Playing high school club ball in Canada, Carleton averaged 28.4 points and 11.1 rebounds.

Despite living in the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Joens said she chose Iowa State because it felt like home due to the team feeling like a family.

“Just to play in front of ten thousand fans is amazing,” Joens said after going to Hilton Madness

When looking at the similarities between herself and Joens, Carleton said they are both tall and versatile wing players.

Fennelly said Joens will spend the majority of her time on the court as a wing but said the team experimented with playing her as a backup power forward.

Offensively, Fennelly said scoring is her greatest strength, which is exactly what the team needs.

Last year, Fennelly said the team relied too much on Carleton on the offensive end, but this year the team will have Joens, Madison Wise and Alexa Middleton to take pressure off of Carleton.

With the starting lineup in mind, Fennelly said Carleton, Middleton and Wise are the only players to have locked up starting spots and said the team had been practicing 12 players before Carleton arrived.

Carleton missed the first six practices due to having commitments to the Canadian national team.

Despite Joens being a strong scorer, Fennelly said she has struggled in one area of the college game: defense.

Fennelly said Carleton had the same struggles.

“Bridget, like most freshman, couldn’t spell defense when she got here and now she’s probably, arguably our best defender,” Fennelly said. “Ashley’s kind of struggling with [defense].”

He said in high school, high scoring players like Joens are encouraged to avoid fouling at all costs to avoid getting into foul trouble, which leads to poor defensive fundamentals.

During the spring, Joens said when her sister had games around Ames she would come and work out with Carleton.

During those workouts that extended into the summer, Carleton said she noticed Joens’ strong work ethic and understanding of the game.

“I think that’s what will make her so special here at Iowa State because she wants to be good,” Carleton said. “She wants to be an impactful player her freshman year, so I think I do see myself in her in those ways for sure.”

Carleton said one of the hardest parts of adjusting to college basketball is the level of play during the Big 12 season.

In January when the Big 12 slate starts, Carleton said the games take another step up and she expects Joens to go through ups and downs like she did, but will be ready to help her through those struggles.

With that being said, Carleton said she expects Joens’ time with the USA U-18 team will help with her adjustment to the college level.

On the team, Joens was a captain and averaged 10.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals on a team which captured a gold medal at the FIBA Americas Women’s Championship.

Fennelly said the coaches of the team “couldn’t have been more complementary on the way she played and what she did.”

Carleton is no stranger to playing for national teams having played for the Canadian team since being part of its U-16 team.

Because of the experience, Carleton said she expects Joens to be up to speed by the team’s first game and was not afraid to mention how far along Joens is in her progression.

“Man, I think she is steps ahead of me when I was a freshman,” Carleton said. “You know she’s confident, she knows how to score in a variety of ways, so I’m really excited to see how she does this season.”

In her freshman year, Carleton averaged 12 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.1 steals and was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.