RICHARDSON, Texas – It was a season that people in Northern Colorado will not forget, but unfortunately for the Colorado Chill of the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) their season ends with a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Fury by a final score of 73-69.

The Chill took the league by storm winning all 12 of their home games, and finishing the regular season 15-6, on the way to the NWBL regular season championship.

The 2004 Pro Cup Championship game was a battle that went back and forth for the first ten minutes of the game before Dallas jumped out to a seven-point lead with nine minutes remaining in the half.

Colorado quickly responded, going on an 8-0 run to finish the half up by one at 38-37. Becky Hammon put the finishing touch on in the first half making a long three-pointer with 1.0 second remaining on the clock.

The second half was much of the same for the Chill and Fury as each team went on mini-spurts and runs before Dallas eventually took the lead for good. Playoff MVP Anna DeForge gave the Fury the lead on a long three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining. Sheryl Swoopes and Cheryl Ford connected on 3-of-4 free-throw attempts for Dallas to give them the 73-69 win.

Ruth Riley was the dominant player in a game that featured 41 personal fouls and 35 total free throw attempts. Riley was one point away from a 20-20 ballgame, as she collected game-high in both points and rebounds with 19 and 21 respectively.

Hammon, 16 points, and forward Maren Walseth, 15 points, also finished in double-figures for the Chill, as they out shot Dallas from the floor 49% to 40%. The big point difference in the game came from the free-throw line where the Chill was outscored at the line by seven points.

Dallas was led on the night by DeForge who had 19 points. Sheila Lambert, Sheryl Swoopes and Ta’Keisha Lewis also finished in double-figures for the Fury with 16, 14 and 14 points respectively.

The NWBL is a six-team league that features 27 active WNBA players. Other teams in the league include the Birmingham Power (Birmingham, Ala.); Springfield Spirit (Springfield, Mass.); Dallas Fury (Dallas, Texas); Houston Stealth (Houston, Texas); Colorado Chill (Ft. Collins, Colo.) and Chicago Blaze (Naperville, Ill.).

Aaron M. Moore, Media Relations Director
Contact: 720-318-1205

Chill falls to Fury in NWBL title game The Colorado Chill was within two minutes of winning the National Women's Basketball League championship in its first year of operation. (Fort Collins Coloradoan)

Chill feels Dallas' Fury The Colorado Chill accomplished almost everything it could have hoped for in its inaugural season in the National Women's Basketball League, but the one thing the team couldn't do was win the Pro Cup. (Rocky Mountain Collegian)

Top-seeded Chill falls short of title Ruth Riley, Edna Campbell and Becky Hammon tried to hold their heads high as they watched Dallas Fury players celebrate at midcourt of the University of Texas at Dallas Activity Center. (Rocky Mountain News)