Saturday, February 19, 2005
Cupertino, Calif. - The Chill traveled to San Jose without two of their best players on Saturday night, but that didn't stop Carrie Bacon from putting the team on her back to carry Colorado to a hard fought 81-74 victory over the San Jose Spiders.

Becky Hammon and Ruth Riley did not make the trip west due to WNBA commitments. Both players were participating in events in Denver as a part of the NBA All-Star Game.

Hammon is expected to return to the Chill lineup next Saturday when Colorado returns to San Jose. Riley is expected to miss the game, as she will be doing a television broadcast for Notre Dame women's basketball.

Bacon played her best game against the Spiders as she scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-4 shooting. Bacon also came up big on the boards by pulling-down a game-high 11 rebounds in the game. Bacon's 27 points bettered the 24 she scored in her first game as a member of the Chill on February 28, 2004 against the Dallas Fury.

The only other regular started to score in double-figures in the game was Katie Cronin. She finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but she was 0-of-4 from behind the 3-point line.

Two players stepped up big for the Chill in their third road win of the season. The road win also matched the team's road win total from a season ago in three fewer games.

Tiffany McCain, who received her first start of the season due to the absence of Riley, finished the game with 18 points. Little used guard Kate Fagan also reached double-figures for Colorado in the game, as she scored 10 points off of the bench.

Combined McCain and Fagan shot 9-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep. As a team Colorado shot .551 (27-49) compared to just .439 (29-66) for San Jose.

The Spiders were led in the game by 2005 NWBL All-Star Amisha Carter. She finished the night with 17 points, but shot just .333 (5-15) from the floor. Also scoring in double-figures for San Jose was Natalie Nakasa (15), Tera Bjorklund (15) and Amanda Lassiter (11).

Colorado's next game will be on Saturday night to travel to San Jose to again take on the Spiders. Game time is set for 8:05 p.m. MST. The Chill's next home game will be on Sunday night, February 27 when San Jose travels to the Budweiser Events Center to take on the Chill in the second half of a home and home.

On Sunday night the Chill will be hosting its first-ever mascot game during halftime. Mascots from around the state and Wyoming, including Colorado State's Cam the Ram and the University of Colorado's Chip, will be competing in the game at intermission. Eleven mascots in all will be participating in events beginning with an autograph signing period at 5 p.m. MST.

Group tickets for the remaining eight games can be purchased from the Budweiser Events Center by calling Tracie Fehringer at 970-619-4122. Group prices start at $5 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