NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame women’s basketball freshman forward Maddy Westbeld has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday. The Kettering, Ohio, native is now a two-time winner of the league’s weekly freshman honor and the first player in the conference to win twice.
Westbeld played a key role in Notre Dame’s back-to-back wins over Miami (W, 71-60) and Georgia Tech (W, 69-67) this past week. Westbeld was highly efficient down in Florida, shooting 7-of-12 from the field to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds. The first half also saw a sequence in which Westbeld and Destinee Walker combined to score 17 straight points for the Irish and ultimately totaled 19 of the team’s 31 first half points.
Next, the super freshman helped the Irish get revenge against the Yellow Jackets, recording 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with her five rebounds. One of her bigger baskets of the game occurred right before halftime, when she connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Irish within four, giving the home squad some momentum for the second half.
Tough from @maddy_westbeld! #GoIrish
— Notre Dame WBB 😷 (@ndwbb) December 31, 2020
Westbeld continues to lead all ACC freshmen in scoring, averaging 16.2 ppg. In addition, her scoring average ranks 10th in the nation among all Division I freshmen. Amongst all players in the ACC, her scoring average ranks seventh.
Westbeld and the rest of the Irish return to action on Thursday, Jan. 7, at Boston College. Tip is set for 8 p.m. EST on the ACC Network.
— ND —