[2] Joens attended Iowa City High School, where she was a two-sport athlete in basketball and track and field.

In basketball, she played on the varsity team all four years and started every single game, eventually becoming the school's all-time leader in points.

[3] As a high school senior, she averaged 30.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game and was also named Miss Iowa Basketball at season's end.

[7] Joens continued to improve as she broke the Iowa State program's single-season record for points per game with 24.2, training in the barn of a family friend during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay in shape.

[9] In the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Joens scored 33 points to help lead the Cyclones past Michigan State 79–76.

[11][12] In addition to being named to the first-team All-Big 12 Conference team, Joens gained national recognition at the end of the season as she was named the 2021 recipient of the Cheryl Miller Award, given to the best small forward in college basketball, as well as a third-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

[19] Shortly after the Cyclones' 2022 NCAA tournament run ended, Joens announced that she would forego the WNBA draft and return for a fifth season at Iowa State.

[24] After the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Joens and TCU football star Max Duggan were announced as the inaugural recipients of the Big 12 Conference's Bob Bowlsby Award.