Position: Power Forward
USF Career Years: 1989-1992
Hometown: Merced, CA
Career Highlights: Four-time letter winner for USF women's basketball and the winner of the 1989 WCC Freshman of the Year, Boyenga-Woods had a tremendous impact on the Dons’ program.
She was elected a member of the 1992 All-WCC First-Team and the Conference’s 1992 WCC All-Academic Team, and was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame Inductee with the 2020 class.
She came to USF from Merced, and finished her San Francisco career tenth in points (1397), fifth in rebounds (752), and seventh in steals (187). At 5’11”, with a long distance touch, Boyenga-Woods was a 'stretch-four' before such a term even existed. Her signature follow-through with high, wide-spread hands finished off with a quick, economical shot. She had spent thousands of hours shooting with her father Jim, who was a middle school coach in Merced. "We should have hired Jim Boyenga as our Shooting Coach because he did a good job with her," said Bill Nepfel, who coached the Dons from 1987 to 2000. Boyenga-Woods helped lay the foundation for the success the team would enjoy in the mid 1990s, as she guided USF to a Co-League Title in 1992 during her senior season.
Why Boyenga-Woods Chose USF: “I chose USF because of the coaches, teammates, and the rich basketball history.”
Favorite USF Memories: “I loved being part of the team and working hard every day in practice to compete. One of my favorite memories was being Co-League Champions in 1992.”
The USF Student-Athlete Experience: “I had a great experience as a student-athlete on the Hilltop getting to just attend school and play a sport I loved at the same time."
They Said it: “She was a big reason why I chose USF," said Amy Touli, radio voice of the Dons and Boyenga-Wood's former teammate. "To be able to play with someone like her, who doesn't have a big ego, who's generous as a teammate, wanting to win, competitive — Joy certainly fit that bill, but wasn't a spotlight hog — she wanted her team to win. When you have that in your culture, you draw more players in with that kind of attitude (USF Athletics)."
Life After USF: Boyenga-Woods taught high school Physical Education, and coached for 20 years. But once her kids began playing sports, coaching was too time consuming. Boyenga-Woods now enjoys being a mother, camping, fishing and staying in shape.
