Defensive specialist Fontleroy pours in 26 points in win over Lindenwood
11/9/2025 7:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team a year ago, Bella Fontleroy has never averaged double-digit points in her career at Baylor.
But if Sunday's game was any indication, that might change.
The 6-foot-0 senior guard/forward knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 26 points – three off her career high – and added eight rebounds, four steals and two assists in the 16th-ranked Bears' 76-63 win over the Lindenwood Lions Sunday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
"I really know what my role is on this team," said Fontleroy, who boosted her career scoring average to 9.3 points per game. "And that's to be whatever they need me to be, whether it's scoring, rebounding, defending. I've been here for four years. I know what Nicki (Collen) wants. I know what Tony (Greene) wants. Tonight was not what either of them wanted, so we have things to work on and things to adjust."
Collen, whose team was coming off a 58-52, season-opening win over No. 7 Duke in Paris, France, said Fontleroy's improved offensive game has come from countless hours in the gym since last spring.
"We've worked really hard on simplifying," Collen said. "She and I have been in the gym a lot together, the two of us, and really focused on slowing down, using her size and physicality, playing on balance, not rushing and scooping shots. For me, it's not so much about what the big picture is. It's, 'Hey, we've worked really hard on these things, and I'm seeing it translate to the floor.'
"Maybe it didn't look like it a ton against Duke, because she missed a couple layups around the rim. But I thought she held the line and finished against (6-2 Duke forward) Toby Fournier."
Fontleroy scored 10 points in Baylor's opening 18-0 run in the first six minutes of the game, hitting a pair of driving layups and knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. But the Lions got back in it by shooting 42% over the next three quarters and pulling within six early in the fourth.
"I think we just started to relax on defense," said Auburn transfer Taliah Scott, who pumped in a game-high 29 points after scoring 24 in the win over Duke. "I don't think we took the defensive end as serious as we needed to, to be able to keep the gap and keep that lead. It's just something that we've got to go back and work on. We've got to be more focused when it comes to defense."
Lindenwood's Ellie Brueggemann scored 14 of her team-high 20 points in the third quarter, going a perfect 6-for-6 overall and 2-for-2 from outside the arc. The Lions, who had trailed by as many as 23 in the second quarter, were only down 63-50 going into the final period.
"We have a lot of new players, but our kids have to understand that we're going to get everybody's best shot," Collen said. "And Lindenwood is a good team. They were picked to win the (Ohio Valley Conference) for a reason. . . They got down big, and they just said, 'Hey, let's just play.' And they did an elite job. I thought they made our starters look bad to start the third."
Coming back out after halftime, Fontleroy said it "took us a minute to kind of shake out some of that mental fog and get going."
When push came to shove in the fourth, the Bears went back to Fontleroy, and she delivered in a big way. She drove inside for a layup, then hit a 3-pointer in an 8-0 run that gave the Bears enough of a cushion to feel more comfortable down the stretch.
"She was the momentum starter," Scott said of Fontleroy, who was 9-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the line.
"Whenever you get those chances to take a clean drive and a clean lane to help put us ahead . . . that gap was too close. It wasn't supposed to be that close," Fontleroy said. "We should have taken care of business and maintained the lead that we had. But that was a good play, and I'm glad that it went in."
While exactly half of her 976 career points have come from outside the 3-point arc, Collen said they focused on helping her "grow her game to where it doesn't come down to whether she makes 3's or not, that her offensive production isn't determined by, 'Is she shot from 3?'''
"She's capable of offensive rebounding, she's capable of posting (up) and finishing and drawing fouls," Collen said. "And she shot it really poorly from the free throw line a year ago, and there's no reason for that. We focused a lot on those little things. But I thought she got us off to a really good start. . . . I thought she made really good decisions today."
Baylor will go back on the road to face UNLV (2-0) on Friday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas before returning home to play Le Moyne (1-1) at 2 p.m. next Sunday, Nov. 16, at Foster.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team a year ago, Bella Fontleroy has never averaged double-digit points in her career at Baylor.
But if Sunday's game was any indication, that might change.
The 6-foot-0 senior guard/forward knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 26 points – three off her career high – and added eight rebounds, four steals and two assists in the 16th-ranked Bears' 76-63 win over the Lindenwood Lions Sunday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
"I really know what my role is on this team," said Fontleroy, who boosted her career scoring average to 9.3 points per game. "And that's to be whatever they need me to be, whether it's scoring, rebounding, defending. I've been here for four years. I know what Nicki (Collen) wants. I know what Tony (Greene) wants. Tonight was not what either of them wanted, so we have things to work on and things to adjust."
Collen, whose team was coming off a 58-52, season-opening win over No. 7 Duke in Paris, France, said Fontleroy's improved offensive game has come from countless hours in the gym since last spring.
"We've worked really hard on simplifying," Collen said. "She and I have been in the gym a lot together, the two of us, and really focused on slowing down, using her size and physicality, playing on balance, not rushing and scooping shots. For me, it's not so much about what the big picture is. It's, 'Hey, we've worked really hard on these things, and I'm seeing it translate to the floor.'
"Maybe it didn't look like it a ton against Duke, because she missed a couple layups around the rim. But I thought she held the line and finished against (6-2 Duke forward) Toby Fournier."
Fontleroy scored 10 points in Baylor's opening 18-0 run in the first six minutes of the game, hitting a pair of driving layups and knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. But the Lions got back in it by shooting 42% over the next three quarters and pulling within six early in the fourth.
"I think we just started to relax on defense," said Auburn transfer Taliah Scott, who pumped in a game-high 29 points after scoring 24 in the win over Duke. "I don't think we took the defensive end as serious as we needed to, to be able to keep the gap and keep that lead. It's just something that we've got to go back and work on. We've got to be more focused when it comes to defense."
Lindenwood's Ellie Brueggemann scored 14 of her team-high 20 points in the third quarter, going a perfect 6-for-6 overall and 2-for-2 from outside the arc. The Lions, who had trailed by as many as 23 in the second quarter, were only down 63-50 going into the final period.
"We have a lot of new players, but our kids have to understand that we're going to get everybody's best shot," Collen said. "And Lindenwood is a good team. They were picked to win the (Ohio Valley Conference) for a reason. . . They got down big, and they just said, 'Hey, let's just play.' And they did an elite job. I thought they made our starters look bad to start the third."
Coming back out after halftime, Fontleroy said it "took us a minute to kind of shake out some of that mental fog and get going."
When push came to shove in the fourth, the Bears went back to Fontleroy, and she delivered in a big way. She drove inside for a layup, then hit a 3-pointer in an 8-0 run that gave the Bears enough of a cushion to feel more comfortable down the stretch.
"She was the momentum starter," Scott said of Fontleroy, who was 9-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the line.
"Whenever you get those chances to take a clean drive and a clean lane to help put us ahead . . . that gap was too close. It wasn't supposed to be that close," Fontleroy said. "We should have taken care of business and maintained the lead that we had. But that was a good play, and I'm glad that it went in."
While exactly half of her 976 career points have come from outside the 3-point arc, Collen said they focused on helping her "grow her game to where it doesn't come down to whether she makes 3's or not, that her offensive production isn't determined by, 'Is she shot from 3?'''
"She's capable of offensive rebounding, she's capable of posting (up) and finishing and drawing fouls," Collen said. "And she shot it really poorly from the free throw line a year ago, and there's no reason for that. We focused a lot on those little things. But I thought she got us off to a really good start. . . . I thought she made really good decisions today."
Baylor will go back on the road to face UNLV (2-0) on Friday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas before returning home to play Le Moyne (1-1) at 2 p.m. next Sunday, Nov. 16, at Foster.
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