COVID-19 infection cancels Carlsbad Cavegirls basketball game

Hobbs freshman Aniya Joseph blocks a shot against the Carlsbad Cavegirls in their game on March 20, 2021. Carlsbad was scheduled to face Hobbs on Friday but had to cancel the game due to a Cavegirl testing positive for COVID-19 Friday morning.

The Carlsbad Cavegirls basketball team was scheduled to close out the regular season Friday night in Hobbs against the No. 1 Lady Eagles, but the game was canceled after a team member tested positive for COVID-19.

Carlsbad Athletic Director James Johns found out through internal control Friday morning one of the Cavegirls tested positive for COVID-19. The team is now under quarantine. With the playoffs next week the season has ended for Carlsbad.

“For all practical reasons this is the end of the season,” Johns said. “They can’t play games if they’re quarantined. I know this will impact the next week and the playoffs begin on Tuesday and I’m sure the quarantine goes past that.”

The New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) will make the postseason selection Saturday night with the first playoff games on Tuesday. Dusty Young, the Associate Director of the NMAA, said if a team is under quarantine during the postseason it will not be allowed to participate.

Carlsbad’s season ends with a 7-3 record under first-year head coach Matt Enloe. The Cavegirls closed out the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday with a 35-point win against Roswell.