In the age of the transfer portal, it is becoming increasingly rare for athletes to remain in the same program for their whole career. 

However, for Bella Earle, there was never a question of her decision to stay loyal. 

Earle, senior guard from Corinth, is in her final year of eligibility after spending all four years of her collegiate career in Abilene. 

“I stuck with my team throughout high school,” Earle said. “So whenever I came here, that was my decision. I was going to stay at ACU all four years, and they make it easy to stay.”

In the team’s game against Seattle University on Jan. 11, Earle reached a milestone that only seven other Wildcats have reached: 1,000 career points. 

Earle needed 20 points to reach the 1,000 mark in the game against Seattle U, and she finished with 23, giving her a career total of 1,003 points. 

In Thursday’s game against Grand Canyon University, Earle added 26 points to her total, leaving her only 119 points behind the university’s next leading scorer, Madi Miller. 

Head Coach Julie Goodenough said she is thankful she has never had to coach Earle’s effort or energy throughout her career. 

“You know what to expect from Bella, in practice and in the games,” Goodenough said. “You never have to coach effort or energy; she is very self-disciplined to come in and just work hard every day, and has always been an example of good work ethic.”

Earle recorded two triple-doubles in her junior season in games against Navy and the University of Texas at Arlington, showing her constant effort in and out of conference play. 

What goes unnoticed to fans, Coach Goodenough said, is Bella’s sense of humor. 

“She has this really sweet sense of humor,” Goodenough said. “Like she can just bring levity to situations. I don’t know that anybody sees that out on the court because she’s so competitive.”

Earle said it is very important for her to cherish every moment this season in what she called the best team in her career. 

“I think we’re all so locked in and focused on the same goal, which is we want to get a WAC championship, and I think that just made our bonding just all the better,” Earle said. 

As her time at ACU nears its end, Earle hopes to leave the program in a better place than she found it. 

“I would hope to leave the program just with peace knowing that just everyone is going to come back the next season and want the same exact thing as this year,” she said.