Green Bay's Julie Wojta named Wooden Award Finalist
By: Nick Goddard
Updated: March 7, 2012
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - As the No. 10/10 Green Bay (27-1, 17-1 HL) women's basketball team prepares for quarterfinal play in the Horizon League Championship, reigning Horizon League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Julie Wojta (Francis Creek, Wis.) has been named as one of 15 women's finalists for the John R. Wooden Award announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club Wednesday.
Wojta is one of two players who were not on the midseason Wooden Award list, but who made the final ballot, becoming the only player in Phoenix history to earn the honor.
The senior forward leads the Horizon League in scoring, rebounding, and steals, pouring in an average of 19.8 points per game while grabbing 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals per contest. Wojta has posted six double doubles in the past seven contests, tallied 16 in regular season play and has 32 for her career, tying Green Bay's Division I program record. With 1,549 career points and 802 career rebounds, Wojta is one of three Phoenix players in program history to be in the top six in both scoring and rebounding and her current scoring average (13.0) ranks seventh on Green Bay's career record list.
With 99 steals on the year, Wojta is just five steals shy of owning Green Bay's individual season record. On Jan. 7 at Milwaukee, Wojta grabbed a Horizon League and program record 12 steals (11 in the first half) in Green Bay's 88-53 win while pouring in a game-high 27 points in 25 minutes of play. The NCAA record for steals in a single game is 14.
In addition to being named to the final Wooden ballot, Wojta was a mid-season addition to the Wade Trophy Watch list, a Naismith Midseason 32 watch list member, and Capital One Second Team All-America selection.
The Wooden Award All American Teams will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The 36th annual Wooden Award Gala will take place on Friday, April 6, 2012, where the All Americans be announced as well as the Wooden Award winner. The John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious honor in college basketball and is bestowed up on the nation's best player at a university who has proven success both on the court and in the classroom.
Green Bay tips off Horizon League Championship competition Wednesday, Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Kress Events Center with a quarterfinal game against No. 9 seed Valparaiso (10-20, 5-13 HL).
