Purdue women's basketball adds transfer from Stephen F. Austin
Destini Lombard will join the Boilermakers heading into the 2024-25 season
One of the two visitors over the weekend has announced her decision to become a Boilermaker.
Coach Katie Gearlds and her coaching staff received a commitment from Destini Lombard (Stephen F. Austin). Lombard actually committed on Sunday following her official visit but made the announcement on social media Monday afternoon.
Lombard has one year of eligibility remaining.
The 5-foot-9 Lombard, who is long and athletic, played three seasons at SFA after transferring from LSU. Lombard was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year this past season while starting all 34 games and averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, a team-best 4.0 assists, 2.6 steals and totaled 17 blocked shots.
Her 89 steals ranked in the top 20 in the country. Lombard had a season-high 19 points at Alabama and reached double figures 17 times.
When Lombard signed with LSU out of high school, then-head coach Nikki Fargas said: “Destini has got a lot of skills with the ball in her hands and athleticism to play at an elite level. She’s one of the best athletes we have on our roster. Her ability to score the ball and make others look good is effortless. I’m always excited anytime there’s a player from our state, who can come in and have an impact on this program.”
Mahri Petree from UTEP also visited over the weekend.
Purdue isn’t done hosting transfers this week.
Reagan Bass, a 6-1 forward who played at Akron last season, is scheduled to visit the Boilermakers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
ELSEWHERE
We had mentioned Ashlyn Traylor-Walker as a possible transfer candidate, but the sophomore at Radford is moving to Stephen F. Austin to continue her career. She made the announcement on Instagram.
I look at her more of a Jeanae Terry type. Can do a lot of things and scoring isn't the main strength. But she'll need to look for her shot unlike Terry.
Seems like she'll slot into Abbey's minutes pretty well next season. She's not as good beyond the arc, but she's got better assist and steal averages.