DeKALB — COVID-19 protocols have affected NIU women’s basketball for the third time this season as Wednesday’s road bout against Western Michigan University scheduled for 6 p.m. has been postponed.

The decision was announced Tuesday afternoon by the Mid-American Conference, with news releases being published by NIU and Western Michigan shortly after.

Wednesday’s game is the second game to be postponed for the Huskies after their Dec. 29 contest against the University of Akron was postponed. Prior to that, NIU’s Dec. 21 game against Colorado State University was canceled.

The announcement comes in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases amongst collegiate and professional sports. Multiple leagues have been forced to postpone or cancel games in light of multiple players and employees testing positive for the virus.

The U.S. is currently experiencing a weekly average of approximately 674,000 positive cases, according to CDC data.

Both teams are making efforts to reschedule the game. A new date will be officially announced once the teams and the conference reach a consensus.

The next matchup on the schedule for the Huskies is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. NIU will host the University of Toledo Rockets in the first game of a doubleheader with men’s basketball. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. in the Convocation Center.