Lucy Olsen appreciated her former teammate, Zanai Jones, on Friday. The Iowa Hawkeyes star, who shared the same locker room as Jones at Villanova last season, took to Instagram to reshare a clip of Jones' memorable outing for SMU Mustangs against the Stanford Cardinal.
"@zanaijones yuppp," wrote Olsen.
Zanai Jones enjoyed a career-high night against Stanford in SMU's first game of 2025. The senior guard finished as the Mustangs' top scorer in the game with 20 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out five assists, as she played a critical role in the Mustangs' narrow 67-63 victory over the Cardinal.
The Mustangs faced some nervous moments in the last minute of the game, as Nunu Agara brought the Cardinal to within one with 42 seconds to go. Following a 30-second timeout, Jones stepped up to make a clutch layup with 16 seconds left on the game clock to give the Mustangs a critical three-point lead, which they retained to score their first conference victory of the season.
Jones has been impressive for SMU in her senior season, averaging 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the Mustangs' 14 games so far. The win over the Cardinal took the Mustangs to 9-5 this season.
Before SMU, Jones was one of the top performers in Villanova's backcourt alongside Lucy Olsen, averaging 6.7 points and 2.6 rebounds while starting all 31 games she appeared in last season.
Lucy Olsen makes strong start to life at Iowa
While Jones has made a solid start to life at SMU, Lucy Olsen has become one of the top stars at Iowa this season. The Villanova transfer, brought in as a replacement for Caitlin Clark, has averaged an impressive 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 12 appearances so far.
The Hawkeyes, ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25, have ushered in a new era of women's basketball under head coach Jan Jensen, winning 12 of their 14 games. However, they are about to face their toughest test so far, as they will face the eighth-ranked Maryland Terrapins in their next game, which will take place on January 5 at 6:00PM ET.
Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here