By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
After missing over a month of action due to a right knee injury, No. 4 Baylor women’s basketball was prepared to field questions regarding the status of junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs heading into March Madness. But the Bears had an ace up their sleeve.
Just after 4 p.m. Friday, the Baylor women’s basketball X, formerly known as Twitter, account dropped a mock press release “in response to questions regarding her return to play in the 2024-25 season.”
“She’s back,” the post read.
That’s it. Those two words on a printed piece of paper quickly garnered 30,000 views, announcing that the First-Team All-Big 12 selection would make a much-awaited return.
“Everyone loved [the post],” Littlepage-Buggs said. “That was the first thing a lot of people talked about, like, ‘Oh yeah, I like the media team, they did great.’ And they did. I was just happy to put it out there again.”
Littlepage-Buggs, the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double (14.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG), missed the final seven games of the year, including Baylor’s Big 12 tournament run. With a two-week break between Big 12 play and the Round of 64, Littlepage-Buggs said she feels “amazing,” but head coach Nicki Collen did note she will be on a minutes restriction early in the tournament.
“I’m just excited to come back,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “I’m so excited to be back with my teammates. I think that’s what I missed the most, and just basketball aside, I love my teammates so much. Not being able to travel with them for those two games kind of hurt me. I still watched, but just being back with them, I’m so happy.”
In Littlepage-Buggs’ absence, senior guard Yaya Felder stepped into the starting rotation, and junior guard Waiata Jennings saw boosted minutes off the bench. The Bears went 5-2 in games without Littlepage-Buggs, with two ranked wins by a combined 27 points and the only losses coming at the hands of TCU. Without their star forward, the Bears found a template for success they think will increase the team’s ceiling with her back.
“It gave people a chance to just play without her, and we showed we could win and be a great team,” graduate guard Sarah Andrews said. “We had players step up, which gave them a lot of confidence when she was out. So just adding Buggs, I think that makes us an even stronger team.”
When Littlepage-Buggs arrived on campus as a freshman three years ago, she told Collen her goal was to help the team host a regional. Missing the opportunity to play in the first Waco Regional since the 2021-22 season wasn’t an option.
“I’m just excited to see her back out there, getting on the glass, rolling to the rim — you know, all those very Buggs-like things,” Collen said. “That idea of having [fans] here and getting to share in the experience that we’re going to play here [for] Foster’s first-ever postseason games. It is pretty exciting.”
The fourth-seeded Bears will tipoff the NCAA Tournament against No. 13 Grand Canyon University at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Foster Pavilion.
