Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Birmingham, Ala. – In a meeting of undefeated teams at the Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham, it was the Birmingham Power who finished the night that way as they knocked off the Colorado Chill 78-74.

The four-point loss could have been a lot worse for the short-handed Chill, who played tonight without key reserves Tiffany McCain and Teresa Hinz. Both players remained in Colorado due to commitments to their full-time employment.

The first half saw the two teams battle back and forth without either team going ahead by more than six points. The biggest lead of the half was six by Colorado at 13-7, but it was Birmingham that took a five-point lead into intermission.

Just four minutes into the second half, Birmingham opened up a 15-point lead by holding the potent Chill lineup scoreless.

Behind the scoring efforts of Sonia Chase, Sara Nord and Jordan Adams the Power was able to extend the lead to 17 points before Colorado would finally make a run. Chase finished the game as the leading scorer for the Power with 19 points.

Colorado could only close the Birmingham lead to three points, but could not get all the way back in. After missing the first six shots to open the second half, Colorado went on to connect on 16-of-21 field goal attempts to end the game.

Chill point guard Becky Hammon was again the leading scorer for Colorado. She finished the night with 21 points on 8-of-16 from the floor. She also connected for a team-high five three pointers.

Erin Scholz and Katie Cronin were also in double figures in the game for the Chill with 15 and 13 points respectively. After battling an early season slump, Scholz has responded in her last three games by averaging 10 points and 13.3 rebounds per contest.

The loss not only ended the Chill’s winning streak at four games, it also was the end of an impressive double-double stretch for Ruth Riley. The Colorado center came up one rebound shy of notching her fifth consecutive double-double as she finished the night with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Colorado will travel back to Colorado on Wednesday morning and will in action again on Thursday night, January 27, when the Dallas Fury visits the Budweiser Events Center at 7 p.m. The meeting with the Fury will be their first since playing for the NWBL Pro Cup last April. It will also mark the first game of a three-game home stand before the team hits the road for three straight games on the first weekend of February.

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 10 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