QUEEN OF THE BOARDS
1/28/2026 12:49:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Littlepage-Buggs now seventh all-time with 1,067 rebounds
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Darianna Littlepage-Buggs admits that she didn't even have a clue what a double-double was as a freshman at Baylor.
"Once I figured it out, it just kind of stuck," said the 6-1 senior forward, who narrowly missed her 41st career double-double with 25 points and eight rebounds in 14th-ranked Baylor's 82-66 win over Houston Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion. "I just knew, if I can do one thing, I can go rebound, and I just stuck to that."
Prior to Tuesday's game, Baylor coach Nicki Collen presented the Oklahoma City native a ball commemorating her 1,000th career rebound, a mark that Littlepage-Buggs reached three weeks ago, when she had 10 points and 12 boards in a 56-52 win over Colorado. She now ranks seventh all-time with 1,067 career rebounds and could move up as high as No. 4.
"Buggs is one of those people that just gives your team whatever it needs," Collen said of Littlepage-Buggs, who ranks seventh all-time in program history with 1,067 career rebounds. "Tonight, she made a living slipping to the rim (off screens) and rim-running and doing what Buggs does."
That was the case at a pivotal point in the third quarter, a stretch when Littlepage-Buggs was 4-for-4 from the field and scored 10-straight points for the Bears in extending the lead to 53-33.
"I guess you could say it was a flow state," said Buggs, who finished 10-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line. "I was running . . . I don't remember what I was doing. But my teammates found me, I just put the ball in the hoop. So, shout out to my teammates, they gave me the ball."
Offense wasn't really an issue for the Bears (19-3, 8-1), who shot 53% overall and 38% from outside the arc in winning their eighth game in a row. But after allowing just 19 points in the first half, Baylor gave up 25 points in the third quarter alone and got outscored 47-46 in the last two periods.
Last in the conference standings, Houston (6-14, 0-9) got within 71-64 with 5:17 left in the game on a steal and layup by Briana Peguero, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half.
"I would say it was just a lack of concentration on what our game plan was and just a lack of discipline," said senior forward Bella Fontleroy, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. "We have to be disciplined every possession. It's a big point of emphasis for us to make sure we're coming out in the second half and still being intense on the defensive end. And we didn't do that tonight."
Collen said Littlepage-Buggs played a key role on the defensive end in the final five minutes of the game, when the Cougars missed their last five shots from the floor and were outscored, 11-2.
"She always impacts us," Collen said. "Even in those last five minutes, I thought we finally got our double-drag defense correct. And a lot of it was because she did it right. Each year of Buggs' career, she's gotten better at something. We hid her last year on (defense). And now oftentimes, we're putting her on the opponent's best player, and we're able to switch things. She's had growth every year."
Scoreless in the first quarter, Taliah Scott finished with 14 points, while 6-3 redshirt senior Kyla Abraham had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Kyndall Hunter and Amirah Abdur-Rahim scored 17 points apiece for the Cougars.
Although Baylor won its eighth in a row, Collen said the Bears were in "no groove today."
"When you get ranked and you're on a win streak, everybody's going to try to knock you off," Collen said. "You don't get to take days off if you really want to be a conference champion."
The ninth player in program history to grab at least 1,000 career rebounds, Littlepage-Buggs is now behind only Suzie Snider Eppers (2,176), Sophia Young (1,316), Brittney Griner (1,305), Kalani Brown (1,129), NaLyssa Smith (1,098) and Nina Davis (1,074).
"A lot of people can't do that, don't do that," Littlepage-Buggs said of the 1,000-rebound milestone. "Even just to get that, it's always been a blessing. . . . It's just special to even have that accolade."
On the road for its next two, Baylor will play No. 22/21 West Virginia (17-5, 7-3) at 12 p.m. CT Sunday in Morgantown before facing Cincinnati (8-13, 3-6) at 5:30 p.m. CT next Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Fifth Third Arena.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Darianna Littlepage-Buggs admits that she didn't even have a clue what a double-double was as a freshman at Baylor.
"Once I figured it out, it just kind of stuck," said the 6-1 senior forward, who narrowly missed her 41st career double-double with 25 points and eight rebounds in 14th-ranked Baylor's 82-66 win over Houston Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion. "I just knew, if I can do one thing, I can go rebound, and I just stuck to that."
Prior to Tuesday's game, Baylor coach Nicki Collen presented the Oklahoma City native a ball commemorating her 1,000th career rebound, a mark that Littlepage-Buggs reached three weeks ago, when she had 10 points and 12 boards in a 56-52 win over Colorado. She now ranks seventh all-time with 1,067 career rebounds and could move up as high as No. 4.
"Buggs is one of those people that just gives your team whatever it needs," Collen said of Littlepage-Buggs, who ranks seventh all-time in program history with 1,067 career rebounds. "Tonight, she made a living slipping to the rim (off screens) and rim-running and doing what Buggs does."
That was the case at a pivotal point in the third quarter, a stretch when Littlepage-Buggs was 4-for-4 from the field and scored 10-straight points for the Bears in extending the lead to 53-33.
"I guess you could say it was a flow state," said Buggs, who finished 10-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line. "I was running . . . I don't remember what I was doing. But my teammates found me, I just put the ball in the hoop. So, shout out to my teammates, they gave me the ball."
Offense wasn't really an issue for the Bears (19-3, 8-1), who shot 53% overall and 38% from outside the arc in winning their eighth game in a row. But after allowing just 19 points in the first half, Baylor gave up 25 points in the third quarter alone and got outscored 47-46 in the last two periods.
Last in the conference standings, Houston (6-14, 0-9) got within 71-64 with 5:17 left in the game on a steal and layup by Briana Peguero, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half.
"I would say it was just a lack of concentration on what our game plan was and just a lack of discipline," said senior forward Bella Fontleroy, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. "We have to be disciplined every possession. It's a big point of emphasis for us to make sure we're coming out in the second half and still being intense on the defensive end. And we didn't do that tonight."
Collen said Littlepage-Buggs played a key role on the defensive end in the final five minutes of the game, when the Cougars missed their last five shots from the floor and were outscored, 11-2.
"She always impacts us," Collen said. "Even in those last five minutes, I thought we finally got our double-drag defense correct. And a lot of it was because she did it right. Each year of Buggs' career, she's gotten better at something. We hid her last year on (defense). And now oftentimes, we're putting her on the opponent's best player, and we're able to switch things. She's had growth every year."
Scoreless in the first quarter, Taliah Scott finished with 14 points, while 6-3 redshirt senior Kyla Abraham had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Kyndall Hunter and Amirah Abdur-Rahim scored 17 points apiece for the Cougars.
Although Baylor won its eighth in a row, Collen said the Bears were in "no groove today."
"When you get ranked and you're on a win streak, everybody's going to try to knock you off," Collen said. "You don't get to take days off if you really want to be a conference champion."
The ninth player in program history to grab at least 1,000 career rebounds, Littlepage-Buggs is now behind only Suzie Snider Eppers (2,176), Sophia Young (1,316), Brittney Griner (1,305), Kalani Brown (1,129), NaLyssa Smith (1,098) and Nina Davis (1,074).
"A lot of people can't do that, don't do that," Littlepage-Buggs said of the 1,000-rebound milestone. "Even just to get that, it's always been a blessing. . . . It's just special to even have that accolade."
On the road for its next two, Baylor will play No. 22/21 West Virginia (17-5, 7-3) at 12 p.m. CT Sunday in Morgantown before facing Cincinnati (8-13, 3-6) at 5:30 p.m. CT next Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Fifth Third Arena.
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