Colorado Chill of the NWBL

Wednesday, March 30, 2005
LOVELAND, Colo. – After a slow start to the game and just a five-point lead after the first half, the Colorado Chill responded with a strong second half effort to pull-away with an 83-67 win in their semifinal win over the Chicago Blaze.

Both teams shot poorly in the opening 20 minutes with each team making just nine field goals. Colorado was 9-of-30 from the field; good for 30%, while Chicago was 9-of-33 good enough for 27%.

The second half was a much different story for the top-seed Chill, as they shot .679 (19-28) from the field. Chicago continued to struggle from the field in the second 20 minutes. The Blaze connected on just .387 (12-31) of their attempts in the half enabling Colorado to open a big lead.

After playing just 4:49 in the second half, Colorado was able to open up a 17-point lead. Chicago couldn’t get any closer than 15 points the rest of the way and they even saw their deficit balloon to as many as 24 points.

Becky Hammon led the way again for the Chill with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Hammon took just three shots in the second half, but she took over as point guard for the Chill. Hammon recorded 11 assists in the game to just one turnover, her lowest turnover total of the season.

Scoring wise, the second half belonged to Carrie Bacon and Ruth Riley as the two each scored in double-figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. For the game the two players combined to score 30 points, 15 points each, on 10-of-19 from the field.

Erin Scholz also scored in double-figures for the Chill as she finished with 10 points and three rebounds off of the bench.

A trio of players that scored in double-figures led Chicago on the night. LaTonya Johnson (18), Ebony Hoffman (12) and Keisha Anderson (10) were the only three players to reach double-figures for the Blaze. The three combined to shoot just 13-of-42 from the field for the game.

With tonight’s win over Chicago, the Chill will take on the Dallas Fury in a rematch of last year’s championship game that was won by the Fury 73-69 in Dallas. The Fury defeated the Lubbock Hawks 72-68 in the league’s other semifinal game to advance to the final.

Felicia Ragland, who missed the possible game-winner against the Chill on March 18, led the Fury with 28 points on the night. Dallas’ lethal shooter from outside, Anna DeForge, finished the night with 22 points, but she was just 2-of-10 from deep.

Individual tickets will be available at the Budweiser Events Center and all Comcast ticket outlets beginning tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. 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.

Group tickets for the 2005 playoffs 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.

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

Chill Earns Shot at NWBL Title (Fort Collins Coloradoan, Thursday, March 31, 2005)