Friday, March 11, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The month of March is often times referred to as March Madness in the basketball world, and the same holds true for the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL).

Entering the weekend, the Colorado Chill and the Dallas Fury shared the division lead with 12-6 records, and they found themselves just a game and a half ahead of the Lubbock Hawks. But after Friday night the Chill has reclaimed the top spot after they defeated the Birmingham Power 89-84 in Alabama.

Colorado entered the game in Alabama on Friday night desperately needing a win, as they have lost their last two. Becky Hammon made sure they left the Boutwell Auditorium with a 'W' and the lead in the NWBL standings. With the win, Colorado is now 13-6 on the season, while Birmingham falls to 7-11 and drops even further out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

Hammon continued her impressive play over the last five games, a stretch in which she has averaged better than 26 points per game and has shot .551 (43-78) from the field.

On Friday night, Hammon was 12-of-16 overall from the floor and 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. Hammon's effort from deep carried over to the rest of the team, who was playing without Ruth Riley for the sixth straight game, as they were 4-of-7 from deep.

Chill forward's Katie Cronin and Carrie Bacon also played solid games for Colorado as each finished in double-figures with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

As a team on Friday night, Colorado shot .542 (32-59) from the field and .625 (10-16) from long-range. Birmingham shot the ball just as well as the Chill, as the Power concluded the evening at .564 (31-55) from the field, but they were just 2-of-8 from deep.

LeNedra Brown and Vernessa Neamo came off the bench to lead the Power with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Brown was just signed by Birmingham to replace Andrea Lalum, who was forced to the injured reserve with a left knee injury.

Birmingham's bench outscored the bench for the Chill 35-14 in the game, but Colorado made up for the difference in fast break points.Colorado's running game was 14 points better at 16-2 than that of Birmingham.

Colorado will return home for their final three home games of the season beginning with the Chicago Blaze and Tamika Catchings on Sunday, March 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. MST.

The game on Sunday will also mark the return to the Chill lineup for Riley. Riley has missed the last six games due to a previous commitment to compete overseas in Korea with Samsung.

The Chill will conclude the 2005 home regular season with a Friday night game with the second place Dallas Fury on March 18 at 7:05 p.m. The final home game will take place on Sunday, March 20, when the Birmingham Power visit the Events Center for the final time in 2005.

Group tickets for the remaining three 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