Ava Jones makes 1st game appearance since injury, scores for Nickerson HS

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - As her long road to recovery from traumatic injury continues, Nickerson High School senior Ava Jones joined her team on the court Tuesday night, scoring the team’s first basket before exiting to a standing ovation.

Jones, who returned to training on the court in November, signed her letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Iowa. Her recovery includes some surgeries to both knees and a shoulder. Tuesday night, she wore a leg brace on the court.

Since the season started, teams from schools at the high school and college levels have shown support for the Nickerson High School senior, among Kansas’ best athletes prior to July when a vehicle driven by an impaired man crashed into Jones and members of her family. Jones, her parents and her younger brother were in Louisville, Kentucky for an AAU tournament. Jones’ father died from his injuries. At home in Nickerson, she and her mother continue working toward recovery.

Inspired by the work she’s putting in and how what she’s already been able to overcome, the Derby High School girls basketball team sported shirts with the saying, “Every Day Keep Pushing” and “Jones #35.”

In an early-season meeting between the Kansas State and University of Iowa women’s basketball teams, players on both sides also wore shirts supporting Jones during warmups.

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