Iowa recruit Ava Jones got a start, and a basket, Tuesday night

For eight seconds Tuesday night, Ava Jones was an active part of the Nickerson (Kan.) High School girls’ basketball program.

Jones was a starter in the Panthers’ game against rival Halstead. She scored an uncontested left-handed layup on the first possession of the game, then exited.

The senior committed to the University of Iowa on July 3. Two days later, in Louisville, Ky., she and her family were struck by an impaired driver.

Jones and her mother, Amy, were severely injured. Her father, Trey, did not survive.

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder has said from the start that she will honor Jones’ scholarship, whether she can play or not.

Jones has undergone surgery in one knee, and another is scheduled soon. She also faces shoulder surgery.

Video credit to Matt Henderson at KWCH-TV in Wichita, Kan.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com