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Duke women end basketball season amid virus

Kara Lawson
Posted at 10:54 AM, Dec 31, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-31 13:53:59-05

The Duke women's basketball team ended its season Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The team has been on pause since Dec. 16 because of two positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the program's travel party.

"The student-athletes on the Duke women's basketball team have made the difficult decision to conclude their current season due to safety concerns," said Michael Schoenfeld, Vice President for Public Affairs & Government Relations and Chief Communications Officer for Duke University in a statement. "We support their decision, as we have supported the choices made by all student-athletes at Duke during this unprecedented time. Duke will maintain our current schedule of competition in other sports and will continue to observe our rigorous health and safety protocols, which include daily testing for all student-athletes and are based on guidance from leading medical experts."

The Blue Devils postponed games against Miami, N.C. State and UNC Wilmington.

The team's next scheduled game was against Louisville on Thursday.

Before ending their season, the Lady Blue Devils had played four games under first-year head coach Kara Lawson, who was hired back in July.

The men's basketball team planned to keep playing.