WASHINGTON - The Washington Mystics' game against the Connecticut Sun was postponed Friday night after a leak in the Verizon Center roof made it unsafe to play because of moisture on the court.
"Safety of the players is the most important thing as both teams have had enough injuries this year," Washington coach Mike Thibault said. "There wasn't anybody that felt comfortable that it was going be fixed enough to allow players to play with freedom."
The WNBA game was called about 50 minutes after the scheduled 7 p.m. start time. A makeup date hasn't been determined. The leak was first noticed about 20 minutes before the game was supposed to tip. It was opposite the scorer's table a little bit off center court.
Both teams went back to the locker room and then came out again to warm up as the floor was being wiped down. Unfortunately the water kept coming down.
"Disappointed for both teams and there was a great crowd out there," Connecticut coach Curt Miller said. "Would have been an incredible environment. First place on the line in the East with two teams that have tons of talent. Disappointed, but thankful they put the players' safety first. That's the biggest thing. They couldn't truly guarantee the players' safety. I give them a lot of credit for making the difficult decision to call the game. It's not an easy decision, but really appreciate that the players' safety is always first."
The two teams sit atop the Eastern Conference with 13-9 records. The last time they played in Connecticut, the Sun rallied from 22 points down to beat Washington.
"I think it brings a nice side story to it when we come back," Miller said. "The hard part is to try to figure out the perfect time. Does it put them at a disadvantage to squeeze it into a schedule or are we put at a disadvantage? Hopefully we can come back and it's still a meaningful game in the standings."
The two teams couldn't play Saturday because of an arena football game at the venue.