Duke Women’s Basketball Season is Cancelled After Four Games

The women’s basketball program at Duke University will end its season early, the team announced Friday, because of mounting coronavirus concerns. It’s the first Power Five basketball team to start and stop its season because of the pandemic.

“The student-athletes on the Duke women’s basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns,” Michael Schoenfeld, the chief communications officer for the school in Durham, N.C., said in the announcement.

All other Duke sports were expected to continue as usual, following recommend safety protocols, he added.

The women’s team, which had a 3-1 record, had initially suspended operations on Dec. 16 after two members of its traveling party tested positive for the virus, requiring contact tracing. The Blue Devils consequently postponed games against North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina Wilmington; the program had already postponed a game against the University of Miami because of contact tracing concerns. It was scheduled to play Louisville next week.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/25/sports/ncaabasketball/duke-womens-basketball-cancelled.html