Saturday, January 15, 2005

LOVELAND, Colo. – In the season opener for the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) on Saturday night, it was the Colorado Chill who clipped the Lubbock Hawks by a final score of 70-67.

The game was full of many firsts for both teams. It was the first-ever game for the Lubbock Hawks, the first regular season contest for former University of Colorado standout Erin Scholz and was the first game with only two officials since high school ball.

Both Lubbock and Colorado showed some early season jitters in the game with the Chill committing 22 turnovers to the Hawks 27.

But it was Colorado’s Ruth Riley who helped guide the Chill to the first win of the season. Riley was clutch all night scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Riley also blocked five shots in the win for Colorado.

Colorado was led in scoring by Becky Hammon who scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Hammon also handed out a game-high seven assists for the Chill. Carrie Bacon and Katie Cronin also reached double-figures for the Chill with 14 points and 13 points respectively.

Lubbock had four players in double-figures with Shereka Wright and Jocelyn Penn leading the way with 14 points apiece. Penn also pulled-down 13 rebounds to earn the double-double. Stacy Stephens also had a double-double on the evening with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Chill don’t waste much time getting back to the court as they will travel to Chicago to take on the Blaze on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. MST. The next home game for Colorado is scheduled for Monday night when the San Jose Spiders visit the Budweiser Events Center. Tip time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. against the Spiders.

Season tickets can still be purchased for the 2005 season by calling Aaron Moore at Triple Crown Sports at 970-223-6644. The new season ticket price will be prorated for the 12 remaining games. Individual game tickets can be purchased online at www.comcasttix.com, by phone at 877-544-8499 or at the Budweiser Events Center Box Office.

The NWBL is a six-team league that features more than 25 active WNBA players. Other teams in the league include the Birmingham Power (Birmingham, Ala.); Dallas Fury (Dallas, Texas); Chicago Blaze (Naperville, Ill.); San Jose Spiders (San Jose, Calif.) and Lubbock Hawks (Lubbock, Texas). For more information on the NWBL, visit the league website at www.triplecrownsports.com.

Colorado Chill Women’s Basketball – (970) 223-6644
Aaron M. Moore, General Manager

Chill Opens in Winning Style (Fort Collins Coloradoan)