UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball head coach Tanisha Wright announces the signing of junior transfer Petra Božan. Božan becomes Wright’s third transfer portal pickup in the offseason. The forward/center travels to Happy Valley after two seasons spent playing at Nebraska.
Wright said, “Players like Petra don’t come around often. Her skill set as a post is exceptional and we're confident she'll showcase her versatility while having a significant impact as an integral part of our Lady Lion Program.”
Božan brings Big Ten experience to the Penn State women’s basketball program after two impactful seasons with the Huskers. She found herself in and out of the starting lineup for Nebraska throughout her sophomore campaign, playing in all 32 games and averaging 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. The Split, Croatia native logged two starts in the NCAA Tournament run, during which time she averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds. Božan put up career numbers in a week with a pair of wins over Bradley and Penn State. The junior transfer averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. She capped the week with a career best 17 points on eight-of-12 shooting against the Lady Lions.
Between her freshman and sophomore season, Božan earned a spot on the All-Star Five at the FIBA Eurobasket Division B Championships in Miskolc, Hungary. During that run, she averaged 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds over seven games to help the Croatian U20 team to a third-place finish and promotion to Division A.
As a freshman, Božan made an immediate impact for the Huskers. She averaged 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds throughout her rookie campaign. The 6-3 forward/center produced six double figure scoring outings including two-straight to open her collegiate career. In total, she played in 65 games and started in 19 throughout her Husker career. Božan compiled 387 points, 202 rebounds, 31 blocks, 27 assists and 27 steals across two seasons.
Prior to arriving in Lincoln, she represented the Croatian U18 National Team at the European championship events in the summers of 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Božan earned an appearance on the All-Star Five at the U18 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, helping her team to the Division B title. She also had an effective FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket in Portugal, averaging 16.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 assists. She ranked third among all players in the tournament in rebounding and sixth in scoring.
During the 2023-24 season, Božan competed for KAZL Split in Croatia’s Premier League and averaged 15.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks across 22 games. She secured second team All-Premier League honors while powering her team to a 17-5 record. The junior transfer produced 17 double-doubles during the 22-game Premier League regular season.
At the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championships, she posted 12.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. She earned a spot on the tournament’s All-Star Five to guide Croatia to the championship of Division B. At the same event in 2022, she averaged 13.6 points and a tournament-best 15.0 rebounds over seven games. Božan led Croatia to a third-place finish while recording six double-doubles throughout the campaign.