By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Back home at Foster Pavilion, less than 48 hours after a barnburner win in Las Vegas, No. 7 Baylor (3-0) rolled past Le Moyne (1-2) on Sunday, 99-43. Led by a career afternoon from senior forwards Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who posted her 21st career double-double, and Bella Fontleroy, who became the program’s newest 1,000-point scorer.
“It has meant so much being alongside Bella in our fourth year together, special is an understatement,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “We’ve gone through a lot together, but we also just love on each other so much and just to be able to do everything with her and still be with her this far, it’s amazing.”
Baylor entered Sunday riding the momentum of a road win packed with career- and season-highs, one that saw senior forward Kiersten Johnson block five shots, Littlepage-Buggs pull down 12 rebounds and redshirt sophomore Taliah Scott drop 25 points with a career-high five assists. That energy carried straight into Foster Pavilion.
Led by Fontleroy and Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor’s offense clicked early and never let up, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and stretching it to 30 by halftime. From the opening tip, it was all Baylor, as Littlepage-Buggs went a perfect 7-for-7 for 15 first-quarter points.
That rhythm carried into the second, as she closed the half 10-for-10 with 22 points. The Bears shot efficiently, stayed perfect from the line and defended the perimeter well — building a 31-point cushion despite Le Moyne’s perimeter shooting keeping the Dolphins afloat. A live-and-die-by-the-three team, the Dolphins struggled to get anything inside against Baylor’s aggressive man-to-man defense.
Riding a 44-point combined first half from Littlepage-Buggs, Fontleroy and Big 12 and national player of the week Scott, Collen went nine deep against Le Moyne, utilizing a bench that saw minutes in double figures.
“The bench is important,” Collen said. “From our bench to those first five, I was proud of their energy and effort.”
The Bears didn’t take their foot off the gas, as the pace and scoring never dipped. Littlepage-Buggs secured the 32nd double-double of her career just six minutes into the second half while Scott notched her fourth 20-point game of the season, bringing her to 98 points over Baylor’s past four outings.
It was a double-figure day across the board for the Bears, who sent the Dolphins swimming early in the third. Baylor opened the quarter 4-for-4 and sparked a 15–3 run that stretched the lead to 52, setting up a fourth quarter that would see a Bear enter the history books.
In Fontleroy fashion, the record-book moment came on a horns flare action, where she buried her fourth 3-pointer of the night off a perfect feed from Jana Van Gytenbeek to reach her 1,000th career point.
“That play Nicki called made me giggle when she drew it up — that was a freshman Bella play,” Fontleroy said. “It was a play I used to run as a freshman, so to reach 1,000 with that one tugged on my heart a little bit. I’m just extremely grateful and blessed.”
Collen echoed that sentiment, noting how much the moment reflected Fontleroy’s impact beyond just the points.
“She was at eight points, and I pulled her over on a free throw and said, ‘Let’s get you to 1,000 while we’re at home,’ and she made every shot after I started calling plays for her,” Collen said. “You look at the games where she doesn’t have huge numbers on the stat sheet, but Bella makes us better with her voice. She’s a defensive captain for us — with her IQ and understanding of the game. She’s somebody who’s about winning.”
With three 20-point performances, Fontleroy’s milestone sealed and the win well in hand, Baylor closed out the night with 99 points and a trip to Florida in sight.
The Bears head back on the road to face No. 21 Iowa (4-0) at 8 p.m. Thursday in Orlando. Fla,. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
