Westbeld Wins ACC Rookie of the Year

Westbeld Wins ACC Rookie of the Year

Also named a First Team All-ACC selection

Credit Source: Notre Dame University Athletics

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Welcome to an elite club in Notre Dame women’s basketball history, Maddy Westbeld. The freshman forward out of Kettering, Ohio, won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award, as voted upon by the head coaches.

She becomes just the second player in program history to win Rookie of the Year in the ACC, joining Brianna Turner, who did so in 2015. She also is just the sixth overall Notre Dame player to win Rookie of the Year in any conference since the program’s birth in 1977.

Westbeld’s awards haul didn’t stop there. Notre Dame’s leading scorer and rebounder also collected First Team All-ACC honors as voted upon by the Blue-Ribbon media panel and a Second-Team nod from the Head Coaches Panel. Westbeld also naturally landed on the ACC All-Freshman list.

Amongst ACC freshmen, Westbeld ranked first in scoring, second in rebounding, second in steals, fourth in assists and fourth in blocks. No other freshman in the league ranked in the top-four in all the above-mentioned categories.

Not only does Westbeld’s 14.9 points per game top all ACC rookies and leads the Irish, but also ranks 12th among all Division-I freshmen. In addition, her scoring average would rank third all-time amongst freshmen in Notre Dame history. The two ND greats in front of her being Shari Matvey (17.6 ppg) and Beth (Morgan) Cunningham (17.9 ppg).

You can also dub Maddy Miss Do It All because she’s the only freshman in the country averaging at least 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists & 1.4 steals. Overall, she’s just 1-of-9 Division-I players achieving the feat, and the only one from a Power-Five school.

Furthermore, Westbeld ranks fifth among Division I freshmen in the Points+Rebounds+Assists/Game category at 25.3.

Westbeld has tallied three double-doubles on the year, including two over the last week of the regular season. She’s raised her rebounding average to 7.8, which would rank fifth all-time in Notre Dame freshman history.

Westbeld and the rest of the Fighting Irish return to action in the second round of the ACC Tournament against Clemson, taking place Thursday, March 4, at 8:30 p.m. EST on RSN.

Previous Notre Dame Rookie of the Year winners:

ACC
Brianna Turner (2015)

Big East
Jewell Loyd (2013)
Jacqueline Batteast (2002)
Alicia Ratay (2000)

Midwestern Collegiate Conference
Beth Morgan (1994)