Purdue Women's Basketball Without Key Transfer Player for 'Some Time' Due to Injury
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An injury has already hit the Purdue women's basketball program as it prepares for the 2025-26 season. The Boilermakers will be without transfer guard Taylor Henderson for "some time," according to a report from Mike Carmin of Greater Lafayette Sports Report.
Carmin confirmed the news with head coach Katie Gearlds on Wednesday. No specific timeline was provided for Henderson's return.
Henderson suffered the injury during the team's first official practice on Sept. 22.
Henderson transferred to Purdue during the offseason, having spent her first three seasons at UNC-Wilmington. She was a starting guard last year, averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
During the 2023-24 season, Henderson was named to the Coastal Athletic Conference's All-Rookie Team after averaging 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per contest.
Henderson was the fifth player to commit to Purdue out of the NCAA transfer portal during the offseason. In total, the Boilermakers have 10 players on the roster who did not play for the team during the 2024-25 campaign, which includes six transfers.
How does Henderson's injury impact Purdue?
Henderson is a 5-foot-11 guard who provided Purdue with some good size around the perimeter. She's also excellent at getting to the basket and drawing contact, shooting more than 300 free throws over the past two seasons.
Because the injury occurred so early in practice, it's unclear what Henderson's role would have been with the Boilermakers this season, but she provided the team with quality depth at the guard position.
Fortunately, Purdue loaded up at the guard position during the offseason. Gearlds and her staff landed four other veteran guards out of the transfer portal, including:
- Nya Smith (UNC-Greensboro) — sophomore, 5-foot-9
- Taylor Feldman (Northern Arizona) — senior, 5-foot-8
- Kiki Smith (Arkansas) — junior, 5-foot-7
- Tara Daye (St. John's) — junior, 5-foot-10
Purdue also got a commitment from 5-foot-8 Israeli guard Hila Karsh, and 5-foot-7 freshman Carley Barrett joined the team as a walk-on. The Boilermakers also have 6-foot-2 junior McKenna Layden and 6-foot-1 senior Madison Layden-Zay as veteran guards.
Simply put, the Boilermakers have options at the guard spot. But they will still miss Henderson's size and length around the perimeter.
Purdue is one month away from the start of the regular season, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday, Nov. 3 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers will play Purdue Northwest in an exhibition contest on Monday, Oct. 27.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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