Manuel transferring from Versyps Boilers

Taylor Manuel is transferring from Purdue, the school announced Friday, leaving a huge void in the middle of the Boilermakers' lineup.

The sophomore center was expected to be a major cog in the lane, stepping in for a Boilermaker team that lost its starting post players from last season. Manuel will transfer to a yet-to-be-determined Division II school.

"It saddens me that Taylor has decided to leave the Purdue family," Coach Sharon Versyp said. "We appreciate her contributions to last year's Big Ten Tournament championship team and wish her the best in her future, both athletically and academically."

As a freshman last season, the 6-foot-2 center played in all 34 games, averaging 8.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16 minutes per game, while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. The St. Louis, Mo., native was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

She was slated to be a centerpiece in 2013-14.

"Taylor has become a go-to post player," Versyp said in an interview after the season. "She's going to get even better, and she's going to be able to play 30 to 34 minutes next year. I think that will help (us replace inside production), first and foremost."

The Boilermakers now have only two returnees in the post with experience, in forward Liza Clemons and center Camille Redmon. But the duo combined for only 1.9 points and two rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game last season. Purdue will also get forward Whitney Bays, a Maryland transfer who sat out last season.

The Boilermakers return their starting backcourt, of Courtney Moses, KK Houser and Dee Dee Williams.

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