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    44 Ariel Braker  
    Ariel Braker

    Class:
    Junior

    Hometown:
    Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

    High School:
    Grosse Pointe North

    Height:
    6-1

    Position:
    Forward


    04/23/2013

    Diggins Earns MVP Honors At 2012-13 Women's Basketball Awards Banquet

    Fighting Irish celebrate third consecutive NCAA Women's Final Four appearance and second outright BIG EAST title in a row.

    04/04/2013

    #2 Irish Meet #3 Connecticut Sunday At NCAA Women's Final Four

    Notre Dame to face Huskies for fourth time this season, 12th time in past three years (9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT live on ESPN and ESPNHD; live stats at UND.com).

    04/02/2013

    #2 Irish Back To Final Four After Downing #5 Duke, 87-76

    Skylar Diggins (24 points/nine assists) named regional Most Outstanding Player, McBride (18 points) and Achonwa (17 points/13 rebounds) make all-tournament team.

    04/01/2013

    #2 Irish And #5 Duke Meet Tuesday In NCAA Elite Eight

    Notre Dame has advanced to the NCAA regional finals for the third consecutive season, fifth time in school history (7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPNHD and WatchESPN; stats at UND.com).

    03/31/2013

    #2 Irish Down Kansas, 93-63 To Reach NCAA Elite Eight

    Diggins scores 22 of her 27 points in first half Sunday and became the school's career scoring leader.

    04/10/2012

    WBB: Season Highlight Video

    03/30/2012

    Notre Dame arrives at the Final Four

    The Notre Dame Women's Basketball team arrives in Denver for the Final Four.

    03/28/2012

    WBB: ND-MD Highlights

    WBB: Elite 8 Highlights - Notre Dame defeats Maryland to advance to the Final Four

    01/21/2012

    WBB: ND Victory Over Villanova Highlights

    01/18/2012

    WBB: Courtside With Ariel Braker

    04/07/2013

    #2 Irish Fall to #3 UConn in Final Four (AP)

    Skylar Diggins scores 10 points and dishes out eight assists in 83-65 loss.

    04/07/2013

    A Season in Photos: 2012-13 Notre Dame Women's Basketball

    A Season in Photos: 2012-13 Notre Dame Women's Basketball

    04/06/2013

    NCAA Final Four Practice (AP)

    Images of the Irish preparing for their national semifinal game against UConn.

    04/02/2013

    #2 Irish Down #5 Duke 87-76, Head Back to Final Four (AP)

    Skylar Diggins (24 points, 9 assists, 5 steals, 5 rebounds) named regional's Most Outstanding Player.

    03/31/2013

    #2 Irish Down Kansas, 93-63 To Reach NCAA Elite Eight (AP)

    Diggins scores 22 of her 27 points in first half Sunday and became the school's career scoring leader.

    OVERVIEW: Nicknamed "Earl" ... long, lanky post player who is a versatile asset, particularly on the defensive end of the floor with her rebounding and shot-blocking prowess ... agile and aggressive with good athleticism that can be valuable in traps and presses ... also has the size and potential to play bigger than her 6-foot-1 frame ... has shown significant development during her first two seasons and will be counted on to lend veteran depth in the post this season.

    SOPHOMORE SEASON (2011-12): Saw action in career-high 31 games ... averaged career bests of 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game with .459 field goal percentage ... finished with three points, five rebounds and two blocks against Indiana State ... scored four points with four rebounds vs. Hartford ... tossed in six points in BIG EAST opener vs. Marquette ... tied career high with four steals and four free throws made while grabbing seven rebounds in win over Central Florida ... matched career-high with three blocks and set personal-best with nine rebounds vs. Longwood ... had four points and eight rebounds at Mercer ... scored seven points in seven minutes at Cincinnati ... collected five points against Pittsburgh ... tied career high with 10 points (career-best 4-4 FT) in win over visiting Villanova ... registered first postseason points with putback layup in closing seconds of BIG EAST quarterfinal win over No. RV/23 DePaul ... scored her first two points in NCAA Championship play during first-round win over Liberty.

    FRESHMAN SEASON (2010-11): Appeared in 26 games, averaging 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest ... highly-efficient defensive presence who led team with one rebound every 2.7 minutes played ... nearly had "5-5-5" game in her college debut against New Hampshire, registering five points, five rebounds and career-high four steals in 12 minutes ... grabbed four rebounds in six minutes against Morehead State ... came off the bench vs. IUPUI and netted season highs of 10 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes; also blocked a pair of Jaguar shots ... rejected two Creighton shots in three minutes ... finished 4-for-4 from the field with eight points and three steals in nine minutes at Valparaiso ... delivered three points, four rebounds and career-high three blocks in 10 minutes against Loyola Marymount ... did a bit of everything in 17 minutes vs. Southeast Missouri State while finishing with five points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks ... grabbed three boards against Pittsburgh ... shot 2-for-2 at the foul line against No. RV/23 St. John's while blocking two shots ... one of three Fighting Irish players to grab game-high six rebounds in win over Seton Hall ... had two points (2-4 FT), three rebounds and two steals in home finale against Cincinnati.

    HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., where she was a four-year letterwinner and mainstay for head coach Gary Bennett, helping Norsemen to combined record of 94-11 (.895), including a school-record 24-game winning streak during her senior season (2009-10) ... also led team to 2007-08 Michigan Class A state title, as well as three regional championships (and one regional runner-up finish), four district crowns and four conference titles (undefeated in league play her final three seasons) ... two-time Michigan Class A Player of the Year (2008 by Detroit News; 2010 by Associated Press) ... finished close third (five votes shy of second) in 2010 Michigan Miss Basketball voting (and was tops among players from eastern half of state, including Detroit metro area) ... Detroit Free Press Final Four All-Tournament Team (2007) ... three-time Detroit News Dream Team selection (2007, 2009, 2010) ... four-time Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Class A all-state (2007 - third team, 2008, 2009, 2010 - first team) ... four-time all-metro selection (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) ... four-time MAC Red Conference MVP and all-conference pick (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) ... three-time team captain (2008, 2009, 2010) ... ranked 41st by All-Star Girls Report (eighth among wing forwards), 42nd by Blue Star Basketball, and 85th by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (14th among small forwards) ... career per-game averages of 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.0 steals and 3.4 assists ... as senior in 2009-10, averaged 17.6 ppg., 11.4 rpg., 7.6 spg., 5.4 bpg. and 4.0 apg. ... as junior in 2008-09, averaged 12.3 ppg., 8.1 rpg., 4.3 spg. and 2.4 apg., after suffering knee injury during AAU ball the previous summer ... as sophomore in 2007-08 (state title season), averaged 16.0 ppg., 11.0 rpg., 7.2 spg. and 3.8 apg. ... as freshman in 2006-07, averaged 10.6 ppg., 8.8 rpg., 5.0 spg. and 3.4 apg. ... holds numerous school records including rebounds in game (24), steals in a game (12), rebounds in season (271), steals in season (181), free throws made in season (96) and free throws attempted in season (163) ... a triple-double machine in high school, she nearly had a quadruple-double in a January 2010 win over Saginaw Arthur Hill (15 points, 17 rebounds, 10 steals, eight assists, four blocks) ... found great AAU success playing for Michigan Shock/Pistons and head coach John Ciszewski ... helped AAU teams to four consecutive top-10 finishes at AAU Division I Nationals from 2006-09 (best was third in 2008), as well as two adidas Deep South Classic titles (2008 U17 select, 2009) and four AAU state championships ... averaged 19.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, 6.7 steals and 5.3 assists per game during final three seasons of AAU career (led team in scoring each year) ... also a standout high jumper at GPN, qualifying for state meet as a sophomore in 2008.

    PERSONAL DATA: Last name pronounced BREAK-er ...daughter of Veronica and Daniel Braker ... one of five children, growing up in Evansville, Ind. ... the 17th player from state of Michigan to suit up for Notre Dame, second only to Indiana's 19 residents on the Fighting Irish all-time roster ... some other notable Michiganders who have played basketball at Notre Dame include: Jeannine Augustin (Rochester/starting point guard on 1997 NCAA Final Four team), Letitia Bowen (Buchanan/holder of school's career rebounding average record at 8.8 rpg.) and Julie Henderson (Ann Arbor/ranks among program's all-team leaders with 130 games played) ... also coached U13 girls' basketball team near home ... competed in gymnastics for four years ... has read every book in the "Twilight" series ... currently enrolled in Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters as an industrial design major ... some other Fighting Irish players who have worn No. 44 include Heidi Bunek and Meaghan Leahy.

    Braker's Career Statistics

    Season G-S Min-Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-3FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF-DQ A T B S Pts Avg
    2010-11 26-0 149-5.7 12-34 .353 0-0 .000 17-36 .472 25 31 56 2.2 17-0 7 9 14 13 41 1.6
    2011-12 31-0 221-7.1 17-37 .459 0-0 .000 34-44 .773 34 38 72 2.3 21-0 8 25 9 11 68 2.2
    Totals 57-0 370-6.5 29-71 .408 0-0 .000 51-80 .638 59 69 128 2.2 38-0 15 34 23 24 109 1.9

    Braker in the BIG EAST Conference

    Season G-S Min-Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-3FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF-DQ A T B S Pts Avg
    2010-11 14-0 63-4.5 0-7 .000 0-0 .000 5-13 .385 8 12 20 1.4 12-0 2 4 3 5 5 0.4
    2011-12 12-0 71-5.9 10-15 .667 0-0 .000 12-16 .750 11 9 20 1.7 13-0 2 11 3 2 32 2.7
    Totals 26-0 134-5.2 10-22 .455 0-0 .000 17-29 .586 19 21 40 1.5 25-0 4 15 6 7 37 1.4
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