Julie Nicole Wojta (born April 9, 1989) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Angers 49 of the Liga Femenina (LFB). Wojta played college basketball at the

University of Wisconsin–Green Bay The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UW-Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with regional campuses in Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Shebo ...

, where she was a

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...

and Wooden Award finalist,

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

tournament MVP, and a second-team All-America pick. Wojta was the first Green Bay resident to be selected in a WNBA draught and to be included on an Associated Press All-American team.

Early life and career

High school

Wojta hailed from

Francis Creek, Wisconsin Francis Creek is a village in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 669 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Francis Creek was first established in 1850. The village took its name from nearby Francis Creek. ...

, and attended Mishicot High School, where she was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Wojta was a lauded player at Mishicot, receiving two years of all-county honors, two Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter Player of the Year awards, and two Olympian Conference Player of the Year awards. Wojta was also an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

honorable mention selection for Wisconsin's all-state team after her junior year after leading Mishicot to a conference title. Wojta also participated in track and field as a high school athlete.

College

Wojta

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for her true freshman season, and led the team's redshirt freshmen the next year in total rebounds and free throw percentage. As a sophomore, she was a Second Team All-Horizon League selection, in addition to being a Horizon League Player of the Week. Wojta began her junior season as a preseason First Team All-Conference Selection, she would go on to finish the season as a Second Team All-Horizon League and All-Tournament selection. In her final season, Wojta received many accolades. She was a preseason First Team All-Horizon League selection and would be named Horizon League Player of the Week four times. She finished the season named to the Horizon League's All-Defensive and First All-League Teams, and was the Horizon League's Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, later capturing the Horizon League Tournament MVP Award. Wojta led the Horizon League in scoring and steals, and was a finalist for the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

and

, but won neither. Wojta was later named an AP Second Team All-American, the first Green Bay women's basketball player to do so since the school became Division 1. She holds program records for most steals in a season (127) and most career

double-doubles In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

Professional

Wojta was drafted by the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

, becoming the first Green Bay player drafted by a WNBA team. However, she was cut after the 2012 training camp, proceeding to sign a contract to play with Dexia Namur in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In July, Wojta was brought back to the Lynx on a short-term contract to provide depth after a series of injuries. Wotja made her WNBA regular-season debut on July 12, 2012, grabbing two rebounds in limited play. She was waived by the team in August, once the injured players returned to the team. In 2013, Wojta was invited to training camp with the

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

, but was cut prior to the season. She was re-signed on June 5, 2013, to provide depth due to injuries. She made her debut with the Silver Stars on June 7, playing briefly in a win over the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 20 ...

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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Green Bay statistics

Source

Accolades and awards

College

Player of the Year (2012) * Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year (2012) * Associated Press Second Team All-American (2012) * Horizon League Tournament MVP (2012) * Horizon League All-Tournament Team (2011) * Horizon League All-Defensive Team (2012) * First Team All-Horizon League (2012) * Second Team All-Horizon League (2010, 2011) * Preseason First Team All-Horizon League (2010, 2011) * Program record holder for single season steals (127) * Program Division 1 record holder for career double-doubles (35)

High school

* 2 X

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

All-county Honours * 2 X

Olympian Conference Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

Player of the Year * 2 X Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter — Player of the Year *

Honourable Mention Wisconsin's All-state team (2006) * Olympian Conference Title as a junior, with an average 17.6 points and 13.0 rebounds a game * All-conference Honourable Mention as a freshman, with an average 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a game

Europe

Lega Basket Femminile Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) is the premier national league for women's basketball clubs in Italy, founded in 1930. Pool Comense is the competition's most successful club with fifteen championships, followed by AS Vicenza with twelve and Geas Bask ...

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

All-Italian A1 Defensive Player of the Year (2018) *

Liga Femenina de Baloncesto The Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, also known as Liga Femenina Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of sports league, league competition for women's basketball in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's Liga ACB and is run by ...

Most Valuable Forward Player of the Year (2020) * Most Valuable Player (Maurizio Ferrara Prize, 2021)

References

External links

Green Bay Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojta, Julie 1989 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American women's basketball players Basketball players from Wisconsin Forwards (basketball) Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball players Guards (basketball) Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players People from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin San Antonio Stars players