LETTING HER LIGHT SHINE

With a father who was part of Missouri State's Sweet 16 team in 1999, a mother who played on the school's 2001 Final Four team and an older brother who played as well, Bella Fontleroy said she "really didn't have much of a choice" when it came to whether she was going to play basketball.

"Eventually, it just kind of grew into what it is now," said Fontleroy, a 6-0 guard/forward on the 20^th-ranked Baylor women's team that will play in Friday's Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal in Kansas City against either Colorado or Kansas, "but I definitely didn't have an option. I knew one day I was going to pick that ball up. I ran track and played volleyball when I was younger, too, but basketball was always the sport for me."

And it was basketball that paved the way for Fontleroy to come to Baylor four years ago. A five-star recruit at Kickapoo High School, she averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds as a senior in leading the Lady Chiefs to Missouri's Class 6 state championship game and earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in the state.

Already expected to be key players for a reigning Big 12 championship team that lost NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, Fontleroy and fellow freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs became more of the centerpieces for Nicki Collen's second team in 2022-23 when Dre Edwards had to sit out a year and Aijha Blackwell was injured in the first month of the season.

"I think we would have gotten minutes no matter what," said Fontleroy, who averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in earning unanimous Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors. "Even if it was giving one of the upperclassmen a blow, we could come in and help pick up the energy and make sure there wasn't a dropoff. But when Aijha got hurt and Dre wasn't eligible, it was like, 'Oh shoot, we really are getting an opportunity to get in and showcase what we can do.'''

But first, she had to learn a different language, the bizarre basketball lingo that Collen was speaking.

"You're in practice, and she's talking about crackback, ricky (re-screen), drift, all the terminology," Bella said, "I would look at Buggs, and she would look at me. And it was like, 'Well, all right, we're going to figure it out together.'''

Known simply as Buggs and Bella, the duo has developed a bond that will certainly transcend their time at Baylor.

"It's funny to think that I've only been friends with her for four years," Bella said. "It feels like we've had an entire lifetime of friendship. And I know that we do have an entire lifetime to come. But I vividly remember our last summer playing AAU, watching Buggs' team play before us and thinking, 'Oh, man, I hope we don't play them.' I just hadn't met her, but I had that admiration for her talent for a long time. And then, we got to play together, so it was perfect."

Each developing their own role, Littlepage-Buggs became a double-double machine and one of the best rebounders in the country, while Bella has been the Bears' defensive stopper for each of the last three seasons.

"That's my niche and my identity," Bella said. "That's the legacy that I'm going to leave as a Baylor women's basketball player is that I was a great defensive player. I understand our schemes, and I was able to communicate at a really high level. That's what separated me. Even if I'm not making shots . . . it's really hard to take someone off the court who can talk through actions and get us in the right spots. I feel like I've only grown in that role."

Indicative of that, Bella was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the second-consecutive year and was joined on it this time by Littlepage-Buggs.

Although she ranks fourth all-time in 3-pointers made (183), Bella is shooting a career-low 27.5% from 3-point range this season while averaging 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She missed 15 in a row from distance over a five-game stretch before breaking out with a 4-for-7 performance and 16 points in an 80-54 win over Kansas State.

"It's not a question of whether Bella is going to be on the floor, it's a question of whether she makes shots when they leave her open," Collen said. "She doesn't have to make as many as she made against Kansas State. But we're pretty good offensively and the ball flows around a lot better and makes everybody's job easier when (Bella is) making shots."

In a day and age when players seemingly change schools as often as they change clothes, Bella and Buggs have been a part of a rare group with senior guard Jana Van Gytenbeek and redshirt junior center Kyla Abraham that has stuck together for four years.

"It was just love and the family connection and the friendship," Bella said. "We all have different needs, but those needs were being met. We were given the opportunity to showcase our talents and play within the roles that our coaches wanted us to. If there was ever a tug, it was like, 'Nope, you guys are my family. You're going to be here to support me.' You can't replicate that. These people know just about everything there is to know about me."

Where once she didn't even know where Baylor was located – only that it was a powerhouse basketball team – Bella says playing for the Bears has been "one of the biggest honors and blessings of my life."

"I am a very sentimental person, and I have a really great appreciation for every experience that I have, good or bad," she said. "I feel like my time here has really shaped me to be a better person and a better player. This university is a special place to be. I know it's going to have to end eventually, but I don't want it to end."

Outside of basketball, Bella graduated with a degree in communications in December, has been a Big 12 representative on trips to Washington, D.C. and Mexico and has been heavily involved with Baylor's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

"It gives me the opportunity to get out of my shell a little bit and connect," Bella said of the leadership roles she's held. "I'm a very social and outgoing person, but when I'm in new settings, sometimes I have a difficult time expressing myself or going out of my way to do things that make me stretch myself. Those opportunities just gave me the time and space to make new connections and dip my toes in with things that I had never experienced before."

While she plans to pursue a pro basketball career at the end of this season, Bella is hoping to use her communications degree as a color commentator or sideline reporter for men's or women's basketball games.

"Just being around the sport in whatever way – PR, marketing, journalism, whatever," she said. "I love being able to highlight athletes, not only for their athletic ability and their performance, but also what makes them unique and special."

As for what people might say about her and her Baylor story, Bella said, "Definitely, that I let my light shine for Jesus in every aspect that I got to touch and impact here at Baylor."

"I would love for people to see me for who I am, not just as a great defensive player, but someone who's creative and loves to share people's stories and helps people find things they're passionate about. I want to be known as someone who is selfless and loves to see people around her succeed. I hope that's what I give off, because that's genuinely what my heart calls me to do."

LETTING HER LIGHT SHINE

Players Mentioned

Kyla Abraham

Bella Fontleroy

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs

Jana Van Gytenbeek

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