Women’s Basketball: Abbey Ellis, Jeanae Terry and Caitlyn Harper All Set To Return

With the transfer portal as prevalent as it is today, Katie Gerald’s got some welcomed news when Abbey Ellis, Jeanae Terry and Caitlyn Harper announced they will be using their final year of eligibility as Boilers.

Ellis was named All Big Ten Honorable Mention this season after averaging 11.2 points, 1.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds this year. Originally from Melbourne, Australia the 5’6” guard came to Purdue as a junior after starting her collegiate basketball career at Cal Poly. Ellis is a joy to watch and always provided a much needed spark for Purdue when they seemed to need it.

Jeanae Terry was a transfer from Illinois and came to Purdue her junior year. Terry was named on the All Big-Ten Defensive Team by the media and Second Team All Big-Ten by the coaches. She was the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top ten in rebounds, assists and steals per game this season. She’s the first Boilermaker in history to have 170 or more assists in two seasons.

After four seasons at Cal Baptist, Caitlyn Harper transferred to Purdue with two years of eligibility left. She averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds last season. The 6’2” forward shot 54% from the field and 32.7% from beyond the arc.

Leading scorer Lasha Petree has graduated along with Rickie Woltman and Cassidy Hardin. Freshman Lilly Stoddard also announced she would be transferring for next season.

Head coach Katie Geralds landed a top 25 recruiting class for 2023 with five players coming in. She took Purdue back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 this season where they lost their play-in game to St. John’s. With some big names returning and the women coming in, the future is looking bright for the Boilers.