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This Week in the Big 12: A trio of freshman sharpshooters

By Hayes Gardner

BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 08: Jordan Brand Classic Away Team guard Ashley Joens (10) during the Jordan Brand Classic National Girls Game on April 8, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn,NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 08: Jordan Brand Classic Away Team guard Ashley Joens (10) during the Jordan Brand Classic National Girls Game on April 8, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn,NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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These three aren’t shooting like rookies.

The 3-point arc might be a touch farther away, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Oklahoma’s Taylor Robertson, Texas Tech’s Chrislyn Carr and Iowa State’s Ashley Joens.

All they care is that, just like high school, the rim is ten feet off the floor and deep shots are worth extra.

Those three freshmen, a trio of sharpshooters, are leading the Big 12 in 3-point field goals.

Robertson, the leading scorer on a struggling Oklahoma team, is not only tops in the Big 12 in 3-point makes (66), but she’s doing so efficiently with a 44 percent clip. With a quick release, she’s especially lethal as a catch-and-shoot threat and is averaging more triples per game (3.7) than 16 Division I teams.

The 2018 Miss Kansas Basketball, Robertson averaged 23.9 points during her senior year of high school and shot 47.7 percent from deep in leading her team to a state championship. So, this year is just more of the same for the 5-foot-7 guard, who is averaging 16.2 points per game.

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While Robertson is the league’s most accurate quantity 3-point shooter, Carr is equally as dangerous, if just for the number of shots she gets off. The undersized (listed at 5-foot-5) guard is leading the conference in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts, and is averaging 19.7 points per game (including 33 percent from deep). She’s second in the conference with 55 made treys.

Carr has always been a prolific scorer. As a 9th grader, she poured in 46 points in one game — including eight triples — and has continued to be a scorer in college. In contrast to Robertson — who specializes beyond the arc — Carr takes fewer than half of her shots from distance. She will shoot from anywhere.

She’s quick with the ball and can knock down jumpers off the dribble; this season, she’s averaging 18.2 attempts per game.

“You can’t keep her from shooting,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “You just gotta make her hit tough ones.”

Robertson and Carr are both leading one-win Big 12 teams, but ISU’s Joens is a complimentary player on a top-25 team. Joens is generally used on catch-and-shoots, rather than as a playmaker, but she’s been an integral piece to the Cyclones’ success this season. She’s knocked down 46 3s this year (tied with West Virginia’s Tynice Martin for third in the conference) and is shooting 39.3 percent from deep.

A 6′ guard and the reigning Miss Iowa Basketball, Joens shot a preposterous 59.5 percent from deep as a senior in high school, but scored the bulk of her prep points inside the arc. She’s become more of a specialized shooting threat this season, but has shown the ability to score in multiple ways. After all, there’s a reason she was ranked as the No. 26 prospect in her class, and it wasn’t just her ability to hit open 3s.

Robertson, Carr and Joens — disparate in nature — are causing a splash from deep. If their careers to date are any indication, they’ll be sharpshooting through the Big 12 for years to come.

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