WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team added another international touch when head coach Sharon Versyp announced the transfer of point guard Abbey Ellis ahead of the 2021-22 season. The Yallambie, Australia, native played the last two seasons at Cal Poly.
"We're very excited to bring Abbey into our family," Versyp said. "Abbey is a complete three-level scorer who can drive and shoot off the dribble. She plays with such a competitive edge on both ends of the floor. On top of being an constant scoring threat, she has great awareness and does a good job facilitating in transition."
Elllis made 50 starts out of 51 career games at Cal Poly over the last two seasons, averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 33.4 minutes per game. The Australian international earned First Team All-Big West honors as a sophomore, as well as a spot on the All-Freshman team in 2019-20.
A pure scorer, Ellis is a 40.1% career shooter with an 86.3% career mark at the line. The 5-foot-6 guard was also a pest on the defensive end with more than two steals per game during her career.
Ellis wasted no time as a freshman, starting all 27 games and totaling 15.6 points per game at a 42.1% field goal clip. She finished with the second-most points in a game by a rookie during the 2019-20 season with a 37-point performance against UC Riverside.
As a sophomore, she shot 39.5% from the field with 15.3 points per game. She topped double-digit scoring in 16 outings with eight games over 20 points. Ellis dropped a career-high 39 points against San Diego State earlier this year and was one of seven players in the nation to make at least 70 free throws with at least an 88% clip at the line.
Ellis etched her named near the top of most Big West leaderboards – second in field goal attempts, fourth in field goal percentage, first in free throw percentage (10th in the country), second in scoring, first in steals and first in steals per game. She was among a group of just 17 players nationally this season to average 15 points per game with at least 60 steals and assists.
Ellis closed her time with the Mustangs with 818 points, good for 25th in program history.
Growing up in a suburb of Melbourne, Ellis played 25 games over two seasons in the Australian Championships. She had a prolific career in the Australian Youth National system, lifing the 2016 U-16 Australian Junior Championship title. Ellis also guided Our Lady of Mercy to back-to-back Girls Sport Victoria Championships in 2017 and 2018.
FOLLOW THE BOILERMAKERSStay up to date on all the latest scores, stats and stories surrounding Purdue women's basketball this season by following the team on Twitter (@PurdueWBB), Instagram (@PurdueWBB) and Facebook (/PurdueWBB).