Maryland-Purdue Women's Basketball Game Postponed by Roof Leak

Heavy rain in College Park, Md., on Saturday led to a building leak that postponed the women's basketball game between Maryland and Purdue.

The issue was a leak in the roof at Xfinity Center, according to the Baltimore Sun. Saturday's rainstorm had caused water to drip on the court as players warmed up before the start of a 4:30 p.m. tipoff. 

The arena announcer then said that the start of the game would be delayed, and the team announced in a post on X, formerly and commonly known as Twitter, that there would be “a brief delay due to a facilities issue on the court.”

However, at 5:15 p.m., the team posted another message on X saying that the game would be postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. All tickets will be refunded or can be exchanged for another game.

“We wanted to see if we could divert the water off the roof into a different direction, but unfortunately we weren’t able to accomplish that,” Maryland athletic director Damon Evans said. “We were hoping it would stop, but it just didn’t.”

Evans said that the teams considered playing in an auxiliary gym at Xfinity Center, but Purdue didn’t feel comfortable with that option. 

During the delay, players tried to stay loose with a game of knockout while officials and coaches continued to discuss the situation. It was ultimately determined that it would be unsafe to play, the Sun reported.

“Safety for our student-athletes is our No. 1 priority,” coach Brenda Frese said as she addressed the crowd following the postponement. “We’re as disappointed as you guys. We hope that you come back and support this team.”

Maryland (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) next plays at Michigan State on Tuesday night before returning home to host No. 15 Ohio State on Jan. 17.