WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women’s basketball head coach Katie Gearlds added another experienced guard from the international ranks, signing Slovenian Zoja Štirn to the roster for the 2026-27season.
Štirn has represented her country on the international stage at several youth levels, before earning her senior national team call up earlier this year for the 2027 EuroBasket Qualifiers.
At the club level, the 5-foot-10 point guard has been a mainstay in the lineup for Cinkarna Celje since her debut in 2020-21. She has won six straight Slovenian Women’s Basketball League titles and a trio of Women’s Adriatic Basketball Association League championships, a league featuring teams from seven different countries
In 2025-26, Štirn appeared in 23 games in the SWBL to average 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting 45% from the floor. She helped Celje post a perfect 20-0 record in the regular season before going 5-1 in the postseason to lift her sixth consecutive league title. Štirn averaged 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in WABA action, guiding Celje to a runner-up finish in the playoffs.
Štirn made her Slovenian National Team debut in March, knocking down a pair of free throws in a game against Estonia, as Slovenia qualified for the second round of the 2027 EuroBasket Qualifiers.
Štirn again lifted the SWBL title and finished runner up in the WABA in 2024-25.
The 2023-24 campaign was a breakout year for Štirn. Completing the double championship, she averaged 13.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game in domestic competition, while dropping 15.4 points per night in the WABA League.
Štirn won the domestic and continental double in 2022-23 and 2021-22.
During her youth career with the Slovenia National Team, Štirn averaged 9.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game over five events.
A year after helping the U18 squad win the B Division of the European Championships, Štirn guided her country its first U18 EuroBasket title in 2023, defeating France in the finals. She powered Slovenia in the knockout stages, scoring in double figures every game. Štirn finished the tournament with 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. She was one of four players in the tournament to average better than 12 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
She made her international debut at the 2021 U16 European Challengers, when she tallied 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assist per game.