WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women's basketball head coach Katie Gearlds added the reigning WAC Defensive Player of the Year Destini Lombard as the Boilermakers' first transfer this offseason.
Lombard spent the last three seasons at Stephen F. Austin after starting her career at LSU. She will have one season of eligibility at Purdue.
The New Iberia, La., native will arrive in West Lafayette with 101 games played over four seasons in her career, averaging 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Lombard guided the Ladyjacks to a 77-24 record over the last three seasons with a WAC Tournament title in 2022 and a pair of postseason appearances, including a bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
As a senior in 2023-24, Lombard emerged as one of the top two-way players in the WAC. Starting all 34 games for the Ladyjacks, Lombard set career highs with 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
Lombard led the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, steals and steals per game, while finishing second in assists and third in assists per game. She ended the year ranked 18th in the nation in steals with 89.
She finished last season as one of seven players in the nation to average 10 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Lombard was among 10 players in the country with 130 assists and 85 steals on the year.
Lombard is one of 20 players since 2018-19 to post 140 rebounds, 130 assists and 85 steals in a season. Per Cerebro Sports, Lombard was the No. 1-ranked guard in the nation in RAM, an efficiency metric that factors in stats on both sides of the ball.
Prior to her three seasons at SFA, Lombard appeared in four games as a freshman at LSU during the pandemic-shortened season.
In high school, Lombard tallied 1,182 points, 661 rebounds, 478 steals, 315 assists and 215 blocked shots as a four-time all-district honoree at Fort Bend Hightower High School. She guided Hurricanes to a state quarterfinals appearance and earned all-state honors.
Lombard is the second transfer from the WAC during the Gearlds era, joining two-year starter Caitlyn Harper. Harper was named the 2022 WAC Player of the Year.