"Praying for you": Lucy Olsen, Lisa Bluder, Jada Gyamfi and Iowa players react to ex-teammate Ava Jones' cancer diagnosis

Former Iowa Hawkeyes player Ava Jones announced devastating personal news on Saturday. Jones shared a post on Instagram revealing that on Tuesday, which was also World Cancer Day, she was diagnosed with cancer.

She explained more in the caption, writing:

"I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after the results from the biopsy came back. This is the news no one ever wants to get, but especially after spending the last 2 and a half years working my butt off and recovering from getting hit by a car. My body is very strong and I am confident in the doctors here at Iowa."

Former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder along with former players Lucy Olsen, Jada Gyamfi, Sydney Affolter, Addison O'Grady, Caitlin Clark and Gabbie Marshall reacted to the news in the comments.

"Praying for you ❤️," Olsen wrote.

"Thinking of you 🫂🖤," Gyamfi commented.

"You've got this kid!! 🙏🙏," Bluder wrote.

"Thinking and praying for you❤️," Affolter commented.

"Thinking of you Ava ❤️❤️," O'Grady wrote.

Iowa players reaction to Jones (Credits: Instagram/@avajones_35)

Ava Jones' short-lived basketball career at Iowa

Ava Jones was a Class of 2023 recruit who committed to Iowa in July 2022. Two days after her commitment, Jones and her family met with an accident when an impaired driver hit them. The family was in Louisville, Kentucky, for Ava's AAU basketball tournament game.

While her father, Trey Jones, passed away in the hospital after the crash, Ava Jones sustained a traumatic brain injury, torn ligaments in both knees and a shoulder injury. Her mother, Amy, suffered a brain injury and 21 broken bones.

Despite not being able to play, Iowa announced that Ava Jones would remain on scholarship. She joined the Hawkeyes players in 2023 but was never medically cleared to play. Later, in June 2024, it was announced that Jones would take a medical disqualification and she retired from playing in college

"I would like to start by saying how grateful I am to have been part of the Iowa women's basketball program," Jones wrote. "It is with great sadness to announce that I am medically retiring from college basketball.

"My coaches, doctors, teammates and trainers have been amazing since the accident. While I will no longer be a member of the women's basketball program, I will still be on scholarship, receive a world-class education and forever be a Hawkeye."

Since undergoing multiple surgeries for her injuries from the accident, Ava Jones has been sharing her recovery on her YouTube channel.