Maddy Westbeld's work ethic showing success in second half of rookie season

Go to any Chicago Sky practice at Sachs Recreation Center, and the first two people you see in the gym are the rookies in Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld.

Practice continues with different drills and reps with the team. As practice winds down, some players are speaking to press, some are doing recovery work and then there's one that stays on the court focusing on either footwork, shooting or post moves: Maddy Westbeld.

"Her work ethic continues to be off the charts. It has been since day one," Tyler Marsh said.

Westbeld is usually one of the last to leave the gym, learning from assistant coach Courtney Paris and player development coach David Simon.

Come to Sky any game at Wintrust Arena, and Westbeld is the first one on the court, immediately working with Simon on shooting, rebounding and then spending a few minutes after studying film.

"We were just watching film of him in his pro career and the kind of moves that he uses," Westbeld said. "He's just trying to teach me everything in his bag, because we're kind of very versatile post players, just really great footwork. We play 1-on-1 all the time. He's just making me better every day."

Westbeld spent a majority of the first half of the season on the bench, getting a couple minutes here and there. She'd spend her time just watching the game, chatting with teammates and wanting to just learn more and more about the rhythm and speed of the WNBA.

"We love playing with her. You can talk to her the entire game, get on her, and she's just really great about it," Rachel Banham said.

As the first half of the season rolled on, Westbeld was continuously in the gym and in the film room - something that's new to her in her pro career. She's looking for what angles her teammates like off screens, passing lanes, how her teammates want the ball, their rhythm shots - truly everything.

"In the past, I haven't been super into the film, and I used to not love it," Westbeld said. "At this level, when I'm not the player executing and performing like I wanted to be, you got to find a way to get better. So for me, that's just becoming a student of the game in every facet. So I'm really enjoying it, starting to love that part of it."

When the Sky got hit again with the injury bug with both Angel Reese and Ariel Atkins going down for an extended period of time right before the All Star break, Westbeld got her chance to see heavier minutes.

Before July 16, Westbeld averaged just around 6 minutes a game where she put up 1.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists a game while shooting 37.5% from the arc and 31.2% from the field.

She'd take maybe one or two shots a game and sometimes would hesistate before pulling an open look. You could see the wheels turning and her just trying to understand and navigate the pace of the game as it was happening.

"Some of it is kind of just trial by fire and getting adjusted in game speed in real time," Marsh said. "I think that she's done a really good job of adjusting, and her teammates have done a great job of being there to help her and being someone to lean on as well."

Since July 16, her minutes jumped up to 19.2 a game and so did her stats: 4.14 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists a game.

"It's trying to do the little things, trying to be consistent in my minutes, and then also just looking for my opportunities to start being aggressive and start looking for my own and kind of bringing me to the table a little bit more," Westbeld said.

You've started to see her bring more of her game to the table. In her time at Notre Dame, Westbeld was a 6-foot-3 forward who has the ability to stretch the floor because of her ability to shoot beyond the paint. She was a career 46.5% shooter and 34.9% 3-point shooter.

Before July 16, she took only a total of 16 shots.

Since July 16, her total attempts increased to 35, her attempts beyond 5 feet jumped up to 26 and so did her efficiency. She's shooting upwards of 45% between 5 and 15 feet and 30% beyond 20 feet.

"It's great having her on the floor to give that spacing, and she's different than our other bigs," Banham said. "She's able to shoot the 3, and kind of play more perimeter, and and even could bring it up a little bit."

All that time in the gym and hours spent in the film room, her opportunity came and she took advantage. The development, confidence and efficiency is starting to show slowly but surely.

"The more minutes and opportunities she's had, she's grown more and more confident," Marsh said. "Her position is a tough one. The best players in the league are at that spot. There's not many second round picks that end of making it this far. It's a testament to her work ethic as well."

That work ethic that the coaching staff saw on day one of the 2025 WNBA season took her this far and it's all about the caliber of play and greatness she's set for herself that's allowed the success to show here in the second half of the season.

"There's times where you can be in the gym and be like, 'Oh, I'm not there yet,' Westbeld said. "Then there's times where in the gym where you're setting a standard, and I feel like I'm really trying to set a standard.

"I'm trying to build self trust, trying to build confidence within myself, and that can really only come from reps. In addition to that, just getting the reps to not feel like I belong here, but to become the best."

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