The Maryland women’s basketball team will end the 2021 portion of the season on a down note as its away game against Illinois has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 results within the Illini program.
The matchup was scheduled to be the Terrapins’ Big Ten Conference opener and the program’s first game since Dec. 21, when Maryland defeated Coppin State at home.
It is unknown if and when the game will be rescheduled. According to Maryland’s Athletic Department, information on its status will be determined “in the coming days.”
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Our game at Illinois will not be played on Thursday (Dec. 30) as scheduled.https://t.co/atn4qPcqhk
— Maryland Women’s Basketball (@TerpsWBB) December 27, 2021
Before the start of the season, the Big Ten announced its Forfeiture Policy, which states that if a conference team was unable to play due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, the game would be automatically declared a forfeit by the affected team and not be rescheduled.
Last Wednesday, the Big Ten said in a statement that it was “in the process of evaluating” the policy due to the growing number of cases caused by the omicron variant.
“The health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes and our campus communities is our top priority,” the statement read.
Maryland entered the week ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. The Terrapins will now open conference play on the road when they take on No. 8 Indiana Sunday.
