Ashley Joens

AMES — Ashley Joens scored 18 of her career-high 41 points in the fourth quarter to help the Iowa State women’s basketball team withstand Wright State’s comeback in a 79-71 Cyclone victory on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones (7-2) led by as many as 18 points after the opening basket of the third quarter, only to see the visiting Raiders (5-4) get back to within four, 55-51, after a bucket by Jalise Beck to open the fourth.

But Iowa State countered with the sophomore Joens, who went 5-for-7 from the field, 1-of-1 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line to account for 18 of the Cyclones 24 points in the final period.

Joens drew 15 fouls in the game, shot 12-of-23 from the field, 2-of-4 from distance and 15-of-16 at the free-throw line to end up one point shy of the school’s all-time single-game scoring record set by Tonya Burns on Jan. 18, 1984.

She didn’t know how many points she had until the crowd’s volume rose when she reached 40 while shooting free throws, and she glanced up at the scoreboard.

“They’re called free throws for a reason,” Joens said.

She also had 13 rebounds — eight offensive — to help the Cyclones offset their whopping 19 turnovers.

“Anytime you find a way to win it’s a good thing,” said ISU head coach Bill Fennelly. “Obviously Ashley was a monster, she played a phenomenal game. We’ve got a lot of things to correct … but Ashley continues to do some really special things and hopefully we can find her some help.”

Kristin Scott chipped in with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help Joens finish off Wright State.

“You just keep playing, keep going after the ball, get some stops on defense and help turn it into offense,” said Joens. “It feels good, [but] we have a lot to work on still. We just need to keep on playing and play hard every time.”

Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw added 11 points for the Cyclones, who have a week off before hosting Northern Iowa next Sunday in a 5 p.m. game at Hilton Coliseum.

Michal Miller led Wright State with 24 points, Angel Baker added 15 and Shamarre Hale had 11 for the Raiders.

IOWA ST. 79, WRIGHT ST. 71

At Ames

WRIGHT ST. (5-4) — Stover 0-3 0-0 0, Frierson 1-2 0-0 2, Baker 7-16 1-2 15, Beck 3-3 0-0 6, Miller 9-20 3-4 24, Hale 5-9 1-1 11, Redden 0-0 0-0 0, Sumpter 1-1 0-0 2, Harris 3-4 0-1 8, Roberson 1-3 1-2 3. TOTALS 30-61 6-10 71.

IOWA ST. (7-2) — Nezerwa 2-6 2-2 6, Scott 2-5 8-8 12, Espenmiller-McGraw 4-7 0-0 11, Joens 12-23 15-16 41, Johnson 1-5 0-0 3, Kane 0-1 0-0 0, Camber 2-5 0-0 6, Thurmon 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 23-53 25-26 79.

Wright St. 14 10 25 22 — 71

Iowa St. 19 20 16 24 — 79

3-Point Goals–Wright St. 5-13 (Miller 3-7, Harris 2-3, Stover 0-1, Baker 0-2), Iowa St. 8-21 (Espenmiller-McGraw 3-5, Joens 2-4, Camber 2-5, Johnson 1-5, Nezerwa 0-1, Scott 0-1,). Assists–Wright St. 13 (Baker 4), Iowa St. 19 (Johnson 6). Fouled Out–Stover, Roberson, Rebounds–Wright St. 29 (Frierson 7), Iowa St. 33 (Joens 13). Total Fouls–Wright St. 25, Iowa St. 12. Technical Fouls–Roberson 1. A–9,395.