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Maddy Westbeld leads exciting new era of Notre Dame WBB

By Brad Weiss

Dec 3, 2020; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre DameÕs Maddy Westbeld (34) fixes her hair after the Michigan at Notre Dame NCAA women's basketball game Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-USA TODAY NETWORK
Dec 3, 2020; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre DameÕs Maddy Westbeld (34) fixes her hair after the Michigan at Notre Dame NCAA women's basketball game Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-USA TODAY NETWORK /
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The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team has a special player in freshman Mady Westbeld, who will lead them in their next era of the program.

The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team has started off the season with a 2-2 record, one that includes a tough loss against No. 24 Michigan. In that game, freshman Maddy Westbeld put the rest of the country on notice, going toe-to-toe with Wolverines’ star Naz Hillmon, putting together a stat line of 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

In her last game, a win against IUPUI, Westbeld poured in 22 points, as the freshman continues to be the main cog in this Irish offense. For the season, she is averaging more than 17 points per game, and 6.8 rebounds, astounding numbers when you consider these are her first four games of collegiate basketball.

Westbeld recently named ACC Rookie of the Week

Westbeld has hit the ground running in her collegiate career, and the ACC took notice this week, as they named her their ACC Rookie of the Week. Since arriving on campus, Westbeld has been an absolute menace on both sides of the floor, leading the team in both points per game, and rebounds.

If the Irish are to get back to the NCAA Tournament after missing it last season, they are going to need Westbeld to continue to dominate this way. Head coach Niele Ivey is in her first season at the helm and has obviously gone into the year trusting Westbeld, and making her the key component of her offense.

Next. Notre Dame football lands elite 2022 offensive lineman Ty Chan. dark

The Irish will kick off their ACC slate on Sunday against Georgia Tech, so the rest of the conference will get their first real look at the phenom. With an incredible recruiting class coming in next year as well, the Women’s Basketball program is definitely trending in the right direction, and it is clear they have a cornerstone player in Westbeld.