SJSU’s season cut short due to health concerns

The San Jose State women’s basketball season is over.

The school canceled the team’s remaining 14 games on Thursday, citing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to SJSU’s news release, members of the team will begin a county-required 10-day quarantine after returning to San Jose from Arizona, where the team had relocated because of a ban on contact sports in Santa Clara County.

The news release also noted that individuals who already were in quarantine or isolation will remain in Arizona until the quarantine or isolation is completed, just as members of the school’s football team did after losing to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 31.

All individuals from San Jose State’s football traveling contingent have left Tucson, a school spokesman said this week.

“This was an incredibly tough decision, but one that is in the best interest of the health and safety for our program’s student-athletes, coaches and staff,” SJSU athletic director Marie Tuite said in a statement. “San Jose State will maintain its current schedule of competition in other sports while continuing to implement the athletics department’s health and safety protocols. We look forward to watching the continued and exciting growth of our women’s basketball program in the 2021-22 season.”

The Spartans, who finished 2-2, relocated to Phoenix in the middle of December because Santa Clara County banned contact sports as coronavirus case numbers continued to spike. The SJSU men’s basketball team and the 49ers also relocated to Arizona.

The SJSU women’s team opened the season with a 56-48 victory over Cal. Its next four games were canceled. The Spartans then beat Utah State 78-73 before having another game canceled.

San Jose State lost at Boise State 77-75 on Dec. 31 and again to the Broncos 73-50 on Jan. 2. The Spartans haven’t played since.