KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ashley Joens had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa State to a 61-51 victory over No. 15 Texas in the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship Final on Sunday for the Cyclones’ first postseason title since 2001.

Joens, the 2022-23 Big 12 Player of the Year, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Shaylee Gonzales, Rori Harmon and DeYona Gaston of Texas, Lexi Donarski of Iowa State and Skylar Vann of Oklahoma.

Lexi Donarski and Morgan Kane scored 9 points apiece for Iowa State (22-9), which won its third Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship title, which comes with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Texas (25-9) was led by Gonzales and Taylor Jones with 12 points each.

Joens scored 10 points in the third quarter to help Iowa State grab its largest lead of the game at 47-39. Nyamer Diew hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Cyclones the 8-point lead.

After Texas scored the first two points of the fourth quarter, Iowa State went on a 9-0 run to open a 15-point lead and send the crowd into a frenzy.

Much like they did in their quarterfinal victory over Kansas State, when they started 2 of 20 from the field, the Longhorns struggled to score in the early going. They hit just two of their first 14 shots against Iowa State. But Iowa State struggled as well, and the Cyclones led only 7-4 at the first-quarter media timeout. The Cyclones led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Joens hit a bucket with 3 seconds to go in the half, trimming the Texas lead to 27-26. She led all scorers with 13 first-half points, half her team’s total. No other Cyclones player had more than 4 points.

Texas was more balanced. The Longhorns had four players with at least 5 points, led by Gonzales with 7.

All-Tournament Team
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Lexi Donarski, Iowa State
Skylar Vann, Oklahoma
DeYona Gaston, Texas
Shaylee Gonzales, Texas
Rori Harmon, Texas