Former Iowa State women's basketball star Ashley Joens makes Dallas Wings roster

After being selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, former Iowa State star Ashley Joens had to prove herself all over again.

Joens, an Iowa City native and one of the greatest players in Cyclones history, faced the tall task of trying to grab one of a few available roster spots in the league.

She made a compelling case.

The Wings announced Wednesday that Joens made their opening night roster. The team waived Kalani Brown and Charli Collier as their final two moves, opening up a spot for Joens. She will be with the team when it opens the regular season on Saturday against the Atlanta Dream.

"She has worked her tail off," Dallas coach Latricia Trammell said on a Zoom call Wednesday. "She is the first one to arrive in the gym. You can see her there between 7 and 7:30 every morning. And she's definitely made an immediate impact on her teammates.

"She's well deserving."

It's a huge accomplishment for Joens. Landing a spot on a WNBA roster is exceptionally challenging, with just 12 teams and 12 roster spots on each club. Despite turning in one of the best careers in Iowa State history, Joens faced an steep climb as a second-round pick.

Previously: Former Iowa State star Ashley Joens ready to prove herself all over again with WNBA's Wings

But Joens made the most of the few opportunities she got during Dallas' preseason practices and games. She played in both of the team's two games and logged 12 total minutes. Joens scored three points and grabbed two rebounds.

Trammell said the Wings were unsure what route they were going to go with their roster as late as Tuesday. But with Wings guard Diamond DeShields suffering a knee injury, Dallas wanted a wing player to help fill that void. Joens will get the shot.

Trammell informed Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly that they were keeping Joens.

"The comment that she (Trammell) made was Ash earned it because of how hard she worked and showed up every day and did everything they asked, which is what she did for us for five years," Fennelly said. "What a great opportunity for her."

Joens ended her career as one of the most decorated players in Iowa State history. She was a three-time winner of the Cheryl Miller Award, a four-time unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selection and the program's all-time leading scorer with 3,060 career points. Now she's a member of one of sports' most exclusive leagues.

"Just real excited, obviously," Fennelly said. "That league is so hard to make and there's very few jobs available."

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 native and former Cyclone Ashley Joens makes Dallas Wings roster