On December 25th, Duke University’s Women Basketball team announced that they will not play the remainder of their season due to COVID-19 concerns. The Lady Blue Devils originally put a pause on basketball-related activities included games and practices due to positive COVID-19 cases.
It started with contact tracing originally canceling their game against ACC rival Miami. With new HC Kara Lawson; the Blue Devils were off to a 3-1 start before canceling the remainder of the season. This is the first Power 5 team to cancel their season due to the virus; all Ivy League schools announced they would not play in any winter sports in November. Duke WBB Cancels Season due to COVID-19.
We have opted out of the 2020-21 season. pic.twitter.com/Hwlv3cp1tH
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) December 25, 2020
3-1 Before Cancellation
Although Duke WBB Cancels Season due to COVID-19 the Blue Devils were thriving under Kara Lawson. They had a great start to their season winning all of their non-conference game. The Blue Devils were expected to partake in conference play. Only getting to play in one conference game against ranked Louisville they experienced their first loss.
Although the ACC is a tough conference, Duke was expected to be 10/11th in the ACC. One star of many is sophomore guard/forward Jaida Patrick. Patrick is a young leader for this team having a season-high 21 points against Longwood and 6 assists against East Carolina. This young Duke team had the potential to be great.
What’s Next?
Since Duke WBB Cancels Season due to COVID-19; many are wondering who will be next and if winter sports will continue. Many teams across the country, men included, are having to postpone basketball-related activities. Whether it be positive tests or contact tracing, this pandemic is hitting the world of college basketball hard. Since Duke WBB made this decision as a team, many wonder if many teams will follow suit. Many fans and colleges do not blame Duke WBB for taking this action seriously and deciding not to play.
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