Baylor Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not participate in team activities until at least Jan. 15. How long the team will have to go without playing remains uncertain but it is on pause and has canceled its Thursday game against the UConn Huskies.
The Baylor Lady Bears announced Tuesday that head coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. As a result, No. 6 Baylor has gone on pause and canceled its game against the No. 3 UConn Huskies, which was scheduled for Thursday.
Mulkey made the following statement on Tuesday:
On December 25, I was exposed to COVID-19 by a family member who tested positive. I immediately self-quarantined and did not re-join the team when our staff and players came back from our holiday break on December 28. I produced three negative tests leading up to our game at TCU, Jan. 2. However, I decided that it was important to continue quarantining in case the virus took time to come to fruition. I tested positive yesterday (Jan. 4) and will now isolate. If I have no symptoms, I will re-join the program on January 15. While I am disappointed and hate to be away from the program, Baylor women’s basketball is in good hands with our coaches and support staff. The safety of our student-athletes is paramount and will take precedent over any basketball activity during this pandemic.
Baylor is on pause indefinitely and said the safety of the program will dictate when it decides to return.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma is one win behind legendary Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Pat Summitt for second place on the all-time NCAAW Division I wins list and would have had a chance to tie Summitt with a win on Thursday. It was going to be a highly anticipated matchup between two of the most successful programs from the past decade in UConn and Baylor.