Sunday, March 13, 2005
LOVELAND, Colo. – Colorado needed a win on Sunday afternoon at the Budweiser Events Center to secure a playoff berth and they did so beating the Chicago Blaze by a final score of 79-66.

The win came at an expense for the Chill as 2004 Gold Medallist Ruth Riley suffered a back injury in the first half of play and did not return to the game. Riley was taken to McKee Medical Center for further evaluation, but nothing had been reported following the game.

Riley scored 11 points and pulled-down six rebounds before leaving the game with the injury.

Becky Hammon stole the show for the second straight game as she poured in 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.

Hammon also made her first six 3-point field goals in the game before missing her final attempt in the closing minutes of the contest. Hammon got off to a rocky start by missing two of her first three field attempts, but she closed the final 20 minutes by going 6-of-7 from the field. Hammon closed the opening stanza by shooting 5-of-5 from the 3-point line.

Three other players scored in double-figures in the game for the Chill, including Erin Scholz, who scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from a reserve role.

Carrie Bacon scored 14 points and Katie Cronin chipped in with 12 for the Chill.

Chicago was held to just .359 (23-64) shooting from the field in the game, compared to .509 (27-53) for the Chill. The Blaze finished the game just 4-of-15 from behind the 3-point line in the game.

Kina Brown finished the game with 17 points and a game-high 11 boards in the game. Keisha Anderson and Mary Cofield each finished the game with 12 points, respectively.

Colorado will take on the Dallas Fury on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then they host the Birmingham Power on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. With the win tonight, Colorado took a half game lead over the Dallas Fury.

The games with Dallas and Birmingham will be the final regular season home games before the team heads to the road for its final games of the season.

Group tickets for the remaining two 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