For the past three seasons in Berea, Brough has been the anchor of a stingy Yellow Jacket defense and has re-written the school's record books for blocked shots while forcing many other shots to stray off target because of her imposing height and defensive presence. And what is even more impressive, she has done that while carrying a 3.96 grade point average in the College's political science major and as part of its Honors Program.

Brough, a 6'2" center and native of Powell, Ohio and graduate of Olentangy Liberty High School, has been a shot-blocking machine in the paint since her freshman year.  She led the Ohio Athletic Conference in blocks as a sophomore and junior, setting school single-season records each year with 59 swats in 2007-2008 and 80 (2.67 blocks per game) a year ago.  She already holds BW's career blocks record with 191 entering a December 21 regional showdown with DePauw (Ind.) University in Berea at 5:00 p.m.

"Defense is the best part of my game and shot blocking is the one thing I'm naturally good at," says Brough, who tops the OAC and team this season with 21 through eight contests.  "I like the challenge of playing defense. I'm not the strongest of post players, but feel like I move well and my post defense has gotten better."

Just how impressive are Brough's blocking totals? Consider that before she came to BW, the career block shots record was 70. Brough eclipsed that mark during last season alone.  Her 80 blocks last year ranked 20th in Division III in blocks per game and her closest counterpart in the OAC had just 38.  On December 6, 2008 in a game at Capital, Brough recorded a career-high nine blocks, just one shy of a BW and OAC single-game record.

"Ariel has a great combination of size and athleticism which is unusual at this level," commented Harrer, who recently won her 400th career game and has a 401-140 career mark prior to her team hosting DePauw. "She has always blocked shots, but now she is more confident on defense and has better timing. She's the quarterback of our defense because she organizes and communicates to everyone on the floor."

"Ariel is an outstanding student-athlete and absolutely a model player for what our program stands for. We would like all of our players to take academics as seriously as Ariel does," said Harrer.

"I really do enjoy learning and what I study. I enjoyed Dr. Mark Mattern's political theory class because it introduced me to different ways to think through political and social issues," said Brough.  She plans on attending law school upon graduation from Baldwin Wallace.

"Ariel is a terrific student. She is naturally intelligent with a good analytical mind that she consistently puts to good, critical use on the material," commented Dr. Mattern. "Plus she works very hard, is utterly dependent, mature and responsible."

So how does Brough balance being the starting center for one of the elite NCAA Division III women's basketball teams and maintaining such an impressive grade point average?

"I have good time management skills; whenever I get an assignment I get it started right away and try and get it done," stated Brough. "I'll do whatever it takes to succeed in the classroom and I always put forth my best effort no matter what the class. I really feel that I've found a balance to fit both basketball and academics in with each other."

"I know that a lot of the younger players look up to Ariel for what she has accomplished both academically and athletically," says sophomore forward Catherine Spisak (Sandusky/St. Mary's Central Catholic).  "I know I do."

"We recruited Ariel more on potential," said Harrer.  "She has really become more versatile on offense and has the ability to step outside and even drive."

Brough's improvement on the offensive end became evident during her sophomore season when she became BW's starting center.

Brough upped her scoring to 6.9 ppg. and rebounding to 5.9 per game and was a key to the Yellow Jackets 27-3 mark, OAC regular season and tournament titles and berth in the NCAA Tournament. "I've definitely improved offensively, especially the mental aspect," says Brough. "I have learned to not let my frustrations get to me when my shots aren't falling and I now understand to be successful at this level you have to have self confidence and understand shot selection."

As a junior, Brough led the team in rebounding at 7.6 rpg, was third in scoring at 8.9 ppg. and reset her own single-season record for blocks with 80. She also shot a career-best 47.3 percent from the floor (106-of-224), helping the Jackets to another NCAA Tournament appearance and a 22-8 record.  She was named honorable mention All-OAC, Academic All-OAC and first-team ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-District IV which qualified her for the national ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America ballot.

But entering this season, Brough faced a new challenge as BW's lone senior on a roster of 15 players that includes 12 freshmen and sophomores. Brough was always one to "lead by example", but this season she notes that, "Out of necessity, I've had to step up and be more vocal. So many of the freshmen look up to me as the only senior with all the experience.  I have tried to stay positive at all times with such a young team and offer a lot encouragement."

Spisak agrees. "Ariel is very positive and caring. She doesn't get upset when we make mistakes and is a great mentor on and off the court. She cares more about how everyone is doing rather than herself not only in basketball, but their personal life as well and I think that has helped us become a better team."

Through eight games this season, the Yellow Jackets are 5-3 and 3-1 in the OAC. Brough is averaging 8.5 ppg. and 7.9 rebounds per game to go along with the 21 blocks.  She recently entered the top-10 all-time leaders for career rebounds and now stands in ninth with 537.

"Ariel is very compassionate and keeps the heads of the younger players up," notes Harrer. "She does things like writing motivational notes to her teammates before games and is a real leader off the court."

Brough says she really loves the game of basketball and is extremely passionate about the BW basketball family. She credits her teammates for helping her through the tough times. "We're such a close team and the off the court memories is what I'll remember most. Just the little things like five or six of us going out to dinner and hanging out."

Although it's still early in the season, Brough says that young Yellow Jackets have made great strides since they arrived on campus in August. She says the team needs to continue to improve everyday and play to their full potential to win another OAC Championship and reach the program's 12th NCAA Tournament in the last 15 years.

And it all comes back to defense for Harrer. "Our defense hasn't quite played up to our potential yet. Once we understand how important defense is, we'll be successful. It is definitely a point of emphasis for us."

But, with Brough as the defensive stopper, defending the basket and continually blocking and altering shots, it appears the Yellow Jackets women's basketball team is once again headed in the right direction.

Following its Dec. 21 home game versus DePauw, Brough and the BW women are idle until hosting the BW Holiday Invitational Tournament on Dec. 29-30 in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center in Berea. On the first day, BW plays Manchester College of Indiana at 5:00 p.m. and Albion College of Michigan plays Loras College of Iowa at 7:00 p.m.  On Dec. 30, the consolation game is at 200 p.m. and the championship game at 4:00 p.m.  The homestand ends on Saturday, January 2 when BW hosts OAC-rival Marietta College at 3:00 p.m.