Tuesday, February 15, 2005
LOVELAND, Colo. – Chicago got an early lift from the late-arriving Tamika Catchings, but it wasn’t enough as Colorado defeated the Blaze 86-79 on Tuesday night at the Budweiser Events Center.

Catchings, who is one of the most-premier players in women’s basketball, arrived at the BEC eight minutes into the first half. Catchings was not expected to make the trip, but because of her commitment to the NBA All-Star Game she was on her way to Colorado.

The score was tied 19-19 when Catchings mad her first appearance in the game. It was the lift Chicago needed, as they lead by as many as 13 points in the first half. They went into the locker room with a commanding 11-point lead and they had Colorado on its heels.

In the first half, Colorado shot just 36.7% from the floor and they were 0-for-8 from behind the three-point line. Chicago shot the ball much better, finished the first 20 minutes at 41.7%.

The second half turned out to be a much different story for the Chill as they outscored the Blaze 50-32 in the half. In just five and a half minutes, Colorado evened the score at 54 each. Chicago would not go away however, in the next four minutes the Blaze went on a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead. From that point on, the Chill was in control of the game again, as they finished the game on a 30-15 run.

The shooting improved to 48% (12-25) in the half, as did the ball handling. Colorado committed just two turnovers in the second half of play, one by backup guard Jasai Ferrucho and the other by Katie Cronin.

Ruth Riley continued to put up MVP like numbers for the Chill. She finished the night with game-highs of 23 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, and 14 rebounds. Riley scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the second half.

All-star guard, Becky Hammon, scored 15 of her 20 points after the break. She finished the game 6-of-16 from the court and handed out a game-high seven assists. Carrie Bacon continued to play well for the Chill. She ended the night with 19 points and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line. As a team, Colorado shot 85.4% from the floor, connecting on 35-of-41 attempts.

Chicago was led on the night by starting point guard Keisha Anderson. Anderson finished the night with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Ebony Hoffman scored 17 points off of the bench for the Blaze and Keila Beachem scored 10 points. Catchings finished the game just 3-of-9 from the floor, good enough for 11 points.

Colorado will travel to San Jose on Saturday night to take on the Spiders at 8:05 p.m. MST. The Chill is 2-0 against the Spiders this season with both wins coming at the Budweiser Events Center.

Group tickets for the remaining five home games can be purchased from the Budweiser Events Center by calling Tracie Fehringer at 970-619-4122. Group prices start at just $5 per ticket and range up to $11 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. 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