HEAD OF THE SNAKE
1/9/2026 9:51:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Fontleroy takes three charges, matches career high with five blocks
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Baylor coach Nicki Collen admits that it's unfair, but her expectations for senior forward Bella Fontleroy defensively are "totally different than everybody else."
That's why it surprised her so much when Fontleroy gave up a layup to Colorado's Anaelle Dutat on a backdoor cut . . . once.
"I was like, 'Dang, you know better. That was just you not in a stance,''' Collen said. "She's just someone that can set the tone for us defensively."
Baylor's "head of the defensive snake," Fontleroy matched her career high with five blocks, took three charges and added 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and a steal to help the No. 16 Bears (14-3, 3-1) hold off the Colorado Buffaloes, 56-52, Thursday night at the Foster Pavilion.
On a day when the shots just weren't falling, the Bears held Colorado (11-5, 2-2) to 28.4% shooting overall (19-of-67) and 2-of-16 from outside the arc, coming up with just enough stops down the stretch to win their third in a row.
"I think Bella does a lot of the dirty work, a lot of stuff that usually players don't want to do," said senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who had her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. "She takes those charges, she takes those hits, even when she's hurting. She knows she has to show up every night. She takes pride in that."
Fontleroy also broke out of a shooting slump that saw her miss 19 of 20 shots in the first three conference games. She hit her first two shots, including a 3-pointer, finished 3-for-7 from the floor and clinched it with a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left.
"I think it just comes down to knowing what we had to do," Littlepage-Buggs said. "(Fontleroy) was tough. She hit those free throws and got us there."
Baylor never trailed until a Dutat bucket put the Buffaloes ahead, 21-20 with 2:40 left in the first half. Taliah Scott missed her first nine shots before draining a 3-pointer, with the Bears going into the locker room knotted at 23-23.
"I was just trying to find ways to impact the game, whether it's defensively, whether it's rebounding, whether it's getting my teammates involved," said Scott, who finished 10 points below her scoring average with 11 points. "Scoring is only one part of the game, and there are multiple facets I feel like I can contribute to. Just locking in and trying to contribute those and then hoping the shots will fall, trying to keep my confidence high."
Up by four going into the fourth quarter, the Bears took their biggest lead, 54-46, when they beat the press and converted with a Kyla Abraham layup with 2:25 left in the game.
Desiree Wooten hit a 3-pointer and made one of three free throws to make things interesting, especially with Scott and senior point guard Jana Van Gytenbeek both fouling out. Forcing two turnovers in the last 20 seconds, the Buffaloes pulled within two on a driving layup by Jade Masagoya, but Fontleroy's free throws iced the game.
"We won't play them again until the conference tournament, but there's a lot to learn from this game," Collen said.
Litttlepage-Buggs joined Baylor's elite 1,000-rebound club, moving up to ninth on the career list with 1,002 rebounds.
"It wasn't the main focus," Littlepage-Buggs said. "When you want to get something, it's usually really hard to get it, because you're too focused on that. . . . The whole focus was definitely on Colorado and boxing out and rebounding."
Baylor finishes a two-game homestand with a matchup against Kansas (11-5, 1-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday. Two of the Jayhawks' three losses in conference play have come by three points, including 79-76 at then-No. 10 Iowa State.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Baylor coach Nicki Collen admits that it's unfair, but her expectations for senior forward Bella Fontleroy defensively are "totally different than everybody else."
That's why it surprised her so much when Fontleroy gave up a layup to Colorado's Anaelle Dutat on a backdoor cut . . . once.
"I was like, 'Dang, you know better. That was just you not in a stance,''' Collen said. "She's just someone that can set the tone for us defensively."
Baylor's "head of the defensive snake," Fontleroy matched her career high with five blocks, took three charges and added 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and a steal to help the No. 16 Bears (14-3, 3-1) hold off the Colorado Buffaloes, 56-52, Thursday night at the Foster Pavilion.
On a day when the shots just weren't falling, the Bears held Colorado (11-5, 2-2) to 28.4% shooting overall (19-of-67) and 2-of-16 from outside the arc, coming up with just enough stops down the stretch to win their third in a row.
"I think Bella does a lot of the dirty work, a lot of stuff that usually players don't want to do," said senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who had her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. "She takes those charges, she takes those hits, even when she's hurting. She knows she has to show up every night. She takes pride in that."
Fontleroy also broke out of a shooting slump that saw her miss 19 of 20 shots in the first three conference games. She hit her first two shots, including a 3-pointer, finished 3-for-7 from the floor and clinched it with a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left.
"I think it just comes down to knowing what we had to do," Littlepage-Buggs said. "(Fontleroy) was tough. She hit those free throws and got us there."
Baylor never trailed until a Dutat bucket put the Buffaloes ahead, 21-20 with 2:40 left in the first half. Taliah Scott missed her first nine shots before draining a 3-pointer, with the Bears going into the locker room knotted at 23-23.
"I was just trying to find ways to impact the game, whether it's defensively, whether it's rebounding, whether it's getting my teammates involved," said Scott, who finished 10 points below her scoring average with 11 points. "Scoring is only one part of the game, and there are multiple facets I feel like I can contribute to. Just locking in and trying to contribute those and then hoping the shots will fall, trying to keep my confidence high."
Up by four going into the fourth quarter, the Bears took their biggest lead, 54-46, when they beat the press and converted with a Kyla Abraham layup with 2:25 left in the game.
Desiree Wooten hit a 3-pointer and made one of three free throws to make things interesting, especially with Scott and senior point guard Jana Van Gytenbeek both fouling out. Forcing two turnovers in the last 20 seconds, the Buffaloes pulled within two on a driving layup by Jade Masagoya, but Fontleroy's free throws iced the game.
"We won't play them again until the conference tournament, but there's a lot to learn from this game," Collen said.
Litttlepage-Buggs joined Baylor's elite 1,000-rebound club, moving up to ninth on the career list with 1,002 rebounds.
"It wasn't the main focus," Littlepage-Buggs said. "When you want to get something, it's usually really hard to get it, because you're too focused on that. . . . The whole focus was definitely on Colorado and boxing out and rebounding."
Baylor finishes a two-game homestand with a matchup against Kansas (11-5, 1-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday. Two of the Jayhawks' three losses in conference play have come by three points, including 79-76 at then-No. 10 Iowa State.
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