Notre Dame women’s basketball will be without its longest tenured player for the early parts of the 2024-25 season. Fifth-year senior forward Maddy Westbeld underwent foot surgery a couple weeks ago according to a university spokesperson.

Westbeld released a social media statement on the matter Monday afternoon.

“I’ve decided to take the necessary time to listen to my body and do what’s best for myself, my teammates, and my career,” Westbeld wrote. “This is not a setback by any means. It is a step forward for the longevity of my career and to be ay full strength when I return to the court this season.

“While I’ll be on the sideline for the beginning of the year, this doesn’t change the mission and goal for my team. As I learn how to lead and navigate in this capacity, I’m leaning on my family at Notre Dame to guide me through it. I can’t wait to get back on the court with my teammates.”

Westbeld has played in 120 games with 120 starts at Notre Dame. She’s only missed one appearance in four seasons; she had to sit out a game with a head injury last season. She came back and played with a clear face guard for a few weeks.

For her career, Westbeld is averaging 12.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in 30.3 minutes of action per game. As a senior, she averaged 14.4 points and a career-best 8.7 rebounds per game. She also upped her time on the court to 33.2 minutes per game, the highest number of her career.

Notre Dame is surely going to miss Westbeld at the four spot, but the Irish got deeper there in the offseason with the addition of Liza Karlen from Marquette. Pitt’s Liatu King can only play forward in a lineup that features five-star freshman Kate Koval at center. Karlen and King were all-conference honorees at their prior programs. Koval was the No. 5 recruit in the country per ESPN.

Junior Cassandre Prosper only played in five games last season before she went down with a foot injury of her own. She’s healthy and able to play in place of Westbeld, too.

The injury big has been hard on Notre Dame in recent seasons, but the saving grace in Monday’s news is that Westbeld’s ailment is not season-ending. Her absence will allow Karlen and King to get even more acclimated in South Bend than they would’ve been if Westbeld was eating up her usual minutes. Westbeld’s transition back into the fold, one would think, should be seamless once she’s ready to go.

The hope is obviously for that to be sooner than later.

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