UW women’s basketball center Emily Ashbaugh, who has been a key starter on the Badgers for three seasons, may owe her success to a conversation she had with her father in elementary school.

“I wasn’t sure that I wanted to get that rough and physical until he convinced me that I did,” Ashbaugh said. “I’m certainly glad that we had that conversation.”

Coached and supported by her father, Ashbaugh started playing basketball in second grade and made her first select team as a fifth grader.

Basketball was always a strong presence in the Ashbaugh family. Ashbaugh’s father, Bryan, played college basketball at Northwestern and her sister, Lauren, played college ball at California before joining a professional league in Portugal.

“I think that growing up with as much hoop in our house as we did made us all crazy at points, but it definitely was a benefit to who I am today,” Ashbaugh said.

As a tribute to her family, Ashbaugh wears the number 44, which her father wore in his playing days at Northwestern. Ashbaugh’s brother has also honored the family by wearing number 31, which Lauren donned throughout her basketball career.

“44 has served me well, and it served him well,” Ashbaugh said of her father. “My sister wore 31, and now my brother wears 31, so we have a family line going.”

While her father encouraged the family to pursue their basketball talent, Ashbaugh’s mother taught her children to ride horses.

“[My father] really felt that a lot of life skills come out of teamwork and basketball, which I totally agree with,” Ashbaugh said. “My mom agreed with those principles also, but she raised us with horses. I’ve been riding horses forever. That’s much more of an individual accomplishment with work and practice.”

As Ashbaugh developed into a talented basketball player and equestrian rider, her older sister provided constant motivation.

“She set a great example for me,” Ashbaugh said of her sister. “She set a lot of records in high school and amazed a lot of people and played really hard and I’ve always aspired to do that.”

Driven by her example, Ashbaugh went on to break many of her sister’s records while leading Redmond High School to a state tournament appearance.

“It was really cool my junior year because we hadn’t been there in about eight years, and we got to go again my senior year,” Ashbaugh said. “That was definitely a mark of improvement in our program. It was really cool to be one of the groundbreakers.”

Ashbaugh left Redmond High with nine school records and numerous high school accolades. She was named first team all-state, all-area and all-King County and earned a USA Today All America honorable mention.

The talented center was the 2000 Gatorade Washington State Player of the Year, and the only player from the state of Washington chosen to attend the 1999 Nike All-American camp. When she graduated, Ashbaugh was listed as one of the top ten high school centers in the country.

“That’s something that my dad and my high school coach kept much better track of than I did and that I ever have,” Ashbaugh said. “I didn’t realize that I was breaking my sister’s records until she called to inform me that I had. It’s nice to be commended for things that you’ve done, but I pretty much had my head in the sand about what exactly I was accomplishing when I was doing it.”

The standout center also shined on the AAU circuit, leading the Seattle Black Magic to an appearance in the 2000 AAU national championships, where Ashbaugh displayed her talents in front of college scouts and coaches.

After her success at the high school and AAU level, Ashbaugh was the only freshman recruited by Wisconsin for the 2000-01 season. Playing behind Nina Smith and Jessie Stomski, Ashbaugh learned from their success and earned playing time in 27 games, including two starts in her freshman campaign.

“That’s why I think my freshman season was so beneficial to me, to see how Nina and Jessie dominated inside and watch how they worked over other players in the league,” Ashbaugh said. “It was a great way to break into the Big Ten without having the pressure of being the inside game. I think that it prepared me well for my sophomore and junior year to come in and understand what is going to be expected of a starting inside player.”

Over the next two seasons, Ashbaugh became a fixture in the starting lineup, coming off the bench just once in two strong years. A rising star in the conference, Ashbaugh was the leading rebounder on the 2001 Big Ten All-Star team that traveled to Europe.

In her senior season, new head coach Lisa Stone named Ashbaugh a team captain.

“It means that your coaches trust you and it means that your team trusts you,” Ashbaugh said of her selection as a captain. “In this sport, that’s pretty much why you play.”

Despite being honored as a captain, Ashbaugh has faced some adversity this season. After missing just one start in the past two seasons, Ashbaugh has come off the bench five times this year. However, the resilient senior has responded to Stone’s changing lineup and accepted her new role.

“I think she’s handled it well,” Stone said. “I don’t think she’s ever been in that situation, and instead of getting down about it, she’s battled her way back and still been a vocal leader.”

Though she has not played in the starting lineup every game, Ashbaugh has served as a true leader for the Badgers this season, making her presence felt on the court and in practice.

“She’s very analytical and I think she gets that from her strong intelligence,” Stone said. “She’s very bright and she wants to know reasons why a lot, and that’s a good thing. Emily [Ashbaugh] is someone that, in this year of transition, has been a key stronghold for our team to keep them focused, keep them listening and keep them working hard.”