GUARD KAYANA TRAYLOR NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN

GUARD KAYANA TRAYLOR NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN

Credit Source: Purdue University Athletics

Fatou Diagne was tabbed honorable mention, while Madison Layden earned All-Freshman honors

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue guard Kayana Traylor was named Second Team All-Big Ten on Monday afternoon when the conference unveiled its yearly honors. The junior earned second-team honors from the coaches and honorable mention status by the media.

Madison Layden’s impressive first campaign in West Lafayette netted her All-Freshman laurels by both the coaches and media. Senior Fatou Diagne, Purdue’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree, was tabbed honorable mention by the league’s media.

Traylor earned her first all-conference recognition after transforming to lead Purdue on the offensive end for the 2020-21 season. The junior finished the regular season ranked 17th in the league in scoring with 14.8 points per game, reaching double figures in 17 games. Traylor dished out 3.8 assists per game, ranking 15th in the Big Ten.

The Martinsville native made her impact at the line in the shortened season with 93 makes on 116 attempts for an 80.2% mark, all in the top-10 in the league. She also set a career-high with 31 points against Michigan State this season.

Traylor dished out five assists on eight separate occasions this season. Her 76 helpers has her within three of joining the career 300-assist club at Purdue as its 18th member.

Diagne was recognized by the league’s media for the first time in her career after a showing constant improvement this season. The Senegal international tallied 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season. The redshirt senior turned her production up a notch in league play to 9.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, the latter ranking fourth in the Big Ten.

Diagne averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds better this year than her career highs last season. She posted a four-game stretch of double-doubles, joining Purdue greats Stacey Lovelace and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton for the second longest double-double streak in program history.

Layden put together one of the best two-way freshman campaigns in Purdue history. She averaged 8.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Among freshmen records, her assist tally is  tied for ninth with head coach Sharon Versyp and second in steals. The Kokomo native is one of six freshmen national, and the only representative from the Big Ten, with 65 assists and 45 steals this season.

A consistent performer, Layden has the third longest streak in program history of games with a 3-pointer at 21 and has recorded a steal in every game. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after dropping a career-high 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting, all 3-pointers, against Iowa on Jan. 18. The six triples tied the program record of makes by a freshman.

The Boilermakers will head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Purdue, the No. 11 seed, will face sixth-seeded Iowa on FS2. Tipoff will be no earlier than 8:50 p.m.