By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Their legacies are etched into Baylor women’s basketball history.
Four years. One school. More than 2,500 combined points in the green and gold, leaving records broken, honors earned and a program made better because Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs chose Baylor.
Separated by 286 miles growing up, the two made their way to Waco four years ago and became pillars of a program in transition, leaving their mark from Ferrell Center to Foster Pavilion and through the community they poured their hearts into, all while securing their rightful place in the hearts of Baylor fans. Now as their chapter in Waco comes to a close, so begins the question: what’s next?
While Baylor says goodbye to one of the most accomplished senior duos in recent program history, Fontleroy and Littlepage-Buggs, two players who helped shape Baylor women’s basketball under head coach Nicki Collen, now stand at the doorstep of the next chapter: the possibility of playing professionally.
“Every [WNBA] team needs a Darianna Littlepage-Buggs,” Collen said following their final collegiate game. “She doesn’t have a bad day, and she is going to get better every day. She’s impossible to keep off the boards, and I wish they could see how well she shoots the 3 now, but it’s really her heart. She’s all about team. I think Buggs is going to end up being more than people think, and the intangibles she brings are something every team needs.”
The 2018 WNBA Coach of the Year also offered high praise for Fontleroy.
“While her numbers don’t say it this year, I think Bella has an elite basketball IQ and can be a 3-and-D player in that league and guard multiple positions,” Collen said. “She has the physical tools, the body, and when Bella wants to rebound, nobody does it better. She’s the strongest player on our team, has the second-highest vertical, and she’s built for the league body-wise. I think she’s a no-brainer when she’s making threes.”
A four-year starter and captain, Littlepage-Buggs built her career on the kind of consistency Collen pointed to — the kind that wins games, even though it doesn’t always make headlines. A relentless presence on the glass and a force in the paint, she turned effort into production, finishing her career ranked third among Baylor’s all-time leading rebounders.
From the moment she put on a Baylor uniform, Littlepage-Buggs was a double-double machine, averaging 10 rebounds per game as a junior and senior.
Fontleroy never missed a game since suiting up for the Bears. She built her impact in the moments that don’t show up in the box score.
A defensive anchor and one of the most versatile players in the conference and country, she took on whatever the moment demanded — guarding up and down the lineup, battling on the glass and stepping into scoring roles when her name was called. Fontleroy’s value was in the glue work, the kind that kept Baylor connected on both ends of the floor even when the stat sheet didn’t tell the full story.
“Defense is something I’ve worked at a lot in my four years,” Fontleroy said. “The reason I played my freshman year was because I was a stronger guard who could defend some of the bigger players in our league, and to see not only the personal growth I’ve had in my abilities but also to lead our team in that way, it’s special to me.”
In a league where roster spots are limited and roles are earned, both players bring traits that translate — Littlepage-Buggs with her undeniable motor, physicality and persistent rebounding presence, and Fontleroy with her multifaceted game, defensive tenacity and ability to impact winning without needing the ball.
And it’s not just about what they’ve done. It’s about how they’ve done it.
Together, Fontleroy and Littlepage-Buggs represented the foundation of a class that stayed, developed and helped define the early years of the Nicki Collen era. In a time of NIL and constant change in college basketball, the two chose continuity, growing into leaders who set the tone on and off the floor.
“For Bella and Buggs to do what they did when they were freshmen and then keep doing it for three more years after that is incredible, and I’m so glad I get to play with them in their last year,” freshman guard Marcayla Johnson said.
Whether it’s hearing their names called on draft night or earning their way onto a roster, Fontleroy and Littlepage-Buggs have already built the foundation for what comes next. And while their Baylor careers may be over, their fingerprints are all over the program they helped redefine.
Because for two players who gave everything to Baylor, the next chapter isn’t about becoming something new, it’s about proving to the rest of the basketball world what Baylor has known all along.
“Buggs and Bella, they’re just really special to me,” Collen said. “They were the first kids who said yes before I ever had a win as a college coach. They believed we could do something special and that I could make Baylor special for them. It wasn’t an easy act to follow, so I’m forever grateful for them.”
After being named two of the 107 finalists for the 2026 Lilly Women’s College All-Star Game, the duo will suit up one last time in their collegiate careers on April 4 in Phoenix during NCAA Final Four festivities, nine days before the WNBA Draft on April 13.
