Terry & Ellis Earn Big Ten Honors For Purdue Women's Basketball
Big Ten women's basketball wrapped up its regular season Sunday, and before the 2023 Big Ten Tournament begins, the conference announced All-Big Ten honorees and award winners Tuesday afternoon.
Two Boilermakers were honored for their performances on the court this season, fifth-year senior guards Jeanae Terry and Abbey Ellis.
Purdue's swiss-army knife point guard earned the most honors of any Boilermakers this season. Terry was named Second Team All-Conference (Coaches), All-Defensive Team (Media), and All-Bg Ten Honorable Mention (Media) this afternoon.
The Illinois transfer led Purdue in three different statistical categories in 2022-23, averaging a team-high 7.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. She also led the Boilermakers in minutes player, logging 813, while the second most was Madison Layden with 741. Not only did those pace the Boilermakers, but they were also among the best in the conference. Terry finished the regular season fifth in rebounding, second in assists, and third in steals.
Only Terry, Iowa's Caitlin Clark, and Notre Dame's Olivia Miles averaged at least six points, rebounds, and assists per game this season.
Terry also made history with the Boilermakers, becoming the first player in program history with over 170 assists in two seasons. She was also the first Boilermaker to record a non-point double-double, which she accomplished three times.
The other Boilermaker to earn Big Ten honors is Terry's backcourt running mate, Abbey Ellis. After starting the season coming off of the bench, Ellis was inserted into the starting lineup and became a key piece of Purdue's success this season. The Aussie was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention for the second consecutive season in West Lafayette.
During the regular season, Ellis was Purdue's second-leading scorer behind Lasha Petree, averaging 11.2 points while grabbing 2.9 rebounds per game. She nearly reached the coveted 50-40-90 shooting plateau after going 48.2% from the field, 39% from three-point range, and 90.8% from the free-throw line. Her free throw percentage was first in the Big Ten and eighth nationally.
One of her best performances came in the biggest win of the Boilermakers' 2022-23 campaign when they knocked off No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus on January 29th. Ellis scored a game-high 26 points on 9-16 shooting, including 5-8 from three-point range in the upset win.
A pair of Purdue starters, Caitlyn Harper and Lasha Petree were left off of the All-Big Ten teams and honorable mention this season. Petree led the Boilermakers in scoring, averaging 15 points per game, and was 13th in the conference. Her eight 20-point games were the most by a Purdue player since Dominique Oden in 2016-17.
Harper came to Purdue from Cal Baptist prior to the season and made her impact felt. The Boilermaker post-presence averaged 10.9 points per game, which was third on the team, and shot 55% from the field. Her shooting percentage was behind only Rickie Woltman for Purdue this season. Harper was also fourth behind Abbey Ellis, Lasha Petree, and Cassidy Hardin in three-point shooting percentage.