UTEP women's basketball game at NMSU postponed due to positive COVID cases
A season after not losing any games to COVID, the UTEP women's basketball team's game at New Mexico State on Wednesday will either be cancelled or postponed.
The Miners played a tournament in Las Vegas without three players who were in COVID protocol last weekend, as well as assistant coach Heather Karner, then after returning, coach Kevin Baker, leading scorer Destiny Thurman and a trainer all tested positive. Everyone in UTEP's traveling party to Las Vegas was vaccinated.
More: C-USA women's basketball standings
The school confirmed the postponement in an 8:06 p.m. Monday announcement, four hours after the decision to postpone or cancel was made.
UTEP postponed Monday's practice while everyone in the program was tested, then conducted a shootaround with nine players. If two more players had tested positive the program would have had to shut down for 10 days.
The outbreak is throughout UTEP's athletic program. The men's basketball team has been missing two players to COVID and the volleyball team opted out of hosting postseason tournament matches this weekend.
Last season the UTEP women's team was the only program in Conference USA, men's or women's, to play a complete 18-game league schedule. The team never had a positive test or lost a player to protocol.
UTEP defeated NMSU 76-61 in the schools' last meeting in El Paso Nov. 17. The 3-2 Aggies next play at the University of New Mexico Friday.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP women's basketball game at New Mexico State postponed
