After four years of leading Baylor women’s basketball through a new era, Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs leave behind a lasting imprint on the program. Now with the WNBA Draft approaching, the veteran duo turns its focus to proving their games translate to the next level.
Author: Marissa Essenburg
Marissa Essenburg
Marissa Essenburg is a senior from Frisco Texas, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. She loves spending time with friends and family, playing/watching and writing about sports, traveling, and listening to any and every musical soundtrack. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a career in sports media after potentially getting her masters.
Fresh off multiple All-American finishes at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships, Baylor begins the outdoor season with momentum and high expectations. With speed across the sprints and proven veterans leading the way, the Bears look poised to make another run this spring.
In a world where so much of our happiness has become tied to circumstances, success and other people, the way we choose to see our lives may be more powerful than anything happening around us.
Baylor’s season came to a close Sunday as the Bears struggled to find their rhythm from the opening tip, falling to ACC champion Duke in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32. The loss marked the end of a veteran era in Waco.
Months after their season opener in Paris, Baylor and Duke will square off again in the NCAA Tournament. While the Bears knocked off the Blue Devils in November, Sunday’s meeting carries far greater stakes, as they’ll look to do it again with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
Less than two days before Baylor opened NCAA Tournament play, freshman guard Marcayla Johnson suffered a torn ACL in practice and will miss the remainder of the postseason.
No. 6 seed Baylor will take on No. 11 seed Nebraska in the first round for the right to face (presumably) No. 3 seed Duke on the Blue Devils’ home court.
The Madness is back.It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and nothing says “springtime” like water-cooler bragging rights. Our sports desk, which collectively suffers from the plague known as “Ball Knowledge,” will guide your ships toward the truth.Or maybe not. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.Jackson Posey | Sports EditorChampion: Iowa StateThe continued ubiquity of the transfer portal has tamped down hopes of traditional Cinderella runs. The old formula — scrappy seniors with four years of chemistry — simply isn’t feasible anymore. The best routes, as Robert Frost mused, are those less taken.Coach-player package deals will have a…
Before she became one of the nation’s premier scorers in green and gold, Taliah Scott’s journey wound through Florida, the SEC and a season interrupted by injury. At every stop along the way, buckets followed.
After three seasons at Oklahoma, Kiersten Johnson arrived at Baylor with a winning résumé. But in Waco, the senior forward found something even greater in her final season: a fresh start and renewed purpose on a team that felt like home.
After another 20-win season, No. 21 Baylor heads to Durham, N.C., to open NCAA Tournament play against No. 11 seed Nebraska. With a healthy roster and unfinished business from last March, the Bears are looking to chase a deeper run.
With fresh legs and a renewed mindset, Baylor women’s basketball enters the NCAA Tournament looking to turn a late-season reset into a deep postseason run. The Bears will open tournament play Friday in Durham, N.C., against the winner of Nebraska and Richmond.
A cold shooting night and early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Bears dropped their opening game in the Big 12 Tournament to the Buffaloes. The Bears now await their NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday.
After securing their 25th straight 20-win season, the Bears enter the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament as the No. 3 seed, chasing their first conference tournament crown under head coach Nicki Collen — and a postseason path that could lead March Madness back to Waco.
With the indoor conference season coming to a close in Lubbock, Baylor track and field earned 12 All-Big 12 honors and key qualifying marks as select Bears now turn their focus toward the final test, the NCAA Championships.
TCU’s “Batman and Robin” duo powered the Horned Frogs to a 65-53 win, clinching the Big 12 regular-season title while Baylor battled through a frigid shooting performance. The Bears now shift their focus to the Big 12 Tournament after finishing third in the conference standings.
After months of stacking performances and rewriting records, Baylor track and field enters championship weekend positioned to contend. Now the Bears are looking to transform preparation into podium finishes at the Big 12 Indoor Championship.
In an era defined by roster turnover and uncertainty, Jana Van Gytenbeek, Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs chose to grow together. Four seasons later, they leave as the foundation of a program they helped steady, shape and sustain.
After a record-setting first month of indoor competition, the Bears have stacked event titles and program marks across multiple events. With the Big 12 Indoor Championships approaching, early-season performances now shift from benchmarks to potential conference points.
With No. 7 Oregon State, No. 18 Southern Miss and Purdue on the docket, the Bears will look to sustain early momentum their first neutral-site weekend at Dell Diamond for the 7th annual Round Rock Classic.
Fueled by a 26-point performance from Taliah Scott and a 29-point halftime cushion, the Bears responded in dominant fashion after Thursday’s setback to remain firmly in the tightening Big 12 race.
Baylor’s nationally ranked three-point defense unraveled as Olivia Miles poured in 40 and the Horned Frogs nearly doubled the Bears’ season-high mark from beyond the arc, reshaping the Big 12 standings with the tournament looming.
After last season’s razor-thin battles and a shifting power dynamic in the conference, Baylor and TCU meet again with title implications and momentum at stake. Now separated in the standings but still within striking distance, Thursday’s matchup could reshape the Big 12 race.
Locked in a wire-to-wire battle deep into the fourth quarter, No. 15 Baylor women’s basketball edged past Arizona State 67–64 on Saturday night. The Bears closed it out at the line behind late defensive stops and key contributions off the bench.
There’s a quiet grief that follows us out the door when leaving one place hurts and leaving another hurts too. That sadness isn’t something to apologize for — it’s proof of deep belonging.
Eleven. That’s the new magic number for 10-time national champion Baylor acrobatics and tumbling, as the team chases one more national title and one final NCATA crown. This year, the dynasty isn’t just defending a title — it’s writing the last chapter of an era.
Two years after the game was taken from her, Ines Goryanova didn’t rush her first steps back onto the floor — she waited for the moment to feel earned. When she finally checked in for No. 15 Baylor women’s basketball, it was more than a substitution. It was the quiet end of a long, unseen fight.
Plagued by a program-record 30 turnovers, a 34–8 points-in-the-paint deficit and 38 points allowed off turnovers, No. 14 Baylor women’s basketball fell to No. 22 West Virginia 70–60 on Sunday afternoon, marking just the Bears’ second loss in conference play and fourth of the season.
Behind efficient senior scoring and a late 8–0 run, No. 14 Baylor women’s basketball held off Houston to remain tied atop the Big 12 standings. The Bears shot 52% from the field and leaned on a balanced offensive effort to secure an 82–66 win at home.
Tied for first place in the Big 12 standings, No. 14 Baylor sits alongside No. 12 TCU as the conference race tightens. Elite defense, balanced production and road success have kept the Bears firmly in the title hunt as the push continues for a lone No. 1 spot.
