Friday, April 1, 2005
LOVELAND, Colo. – Everyone who has followed the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) this season knew that Friday night’s championship game between Dallas and Colorado would be a dogfight, and the team’s didn’t disappoint.

Colorado was able to escape with a 77-70 victory over the Dallas Fury.

The game was physical from the beginning with each team collecting fouls early and often, the trend continued in the second half. With 5:05 remaining in the game, Dallas’s frustration began to show as La’Neisha Caufield committed a hard foul on a Becky Hammon drive. Caufield was called for the intentional foul on the play to give Hammon two free throws and the ball on the side.

After the hard foul by Dallas, Colorado would stretch the lead from 15 to 19 points, it’s biggest of the game.

Minutes earlier on a fast break by Hammon and Katie Cronin, Anna DeForge took out both players with a physical play resulting in a 3-point opportunity. Hammon converted the chance for Colorado.

The game that featured the league’s number one scorer in Hammon and the number two scorer in DeForge turned into a defensive battle, as both teams clamped down on the defensive end.

Hammon had the better game of the two as she finished with a game-high 31 points. With her effort of 31 points, six assists and three rebounds in the game, Hammon wrapped up her second most valuable player award of the season. She also won the MVP award for the 2005 NWBL All-Star Game held in February.

DeForge struggled all night long from the field as she finished just 7-of-21 from the field, good for 19 points. Much of her struggles on the offensive end were contributed to the stellar defense played by Cronin. Cronin held DeForge to just 1-of-8 shooting from the floor in the first half. Four of DeForge’s seven field goals came in the final four minutes when Colorado had the game in hand.

The only other players to score in double-figures for the Chill was Cronin, who finished with 19 points, and Erin Scholz who scored 10 points in just 13 minutes. Ruth Riley also had a solid game as she ended the night with nine points and 10 rebounds. She was one of three players to play all 40 minutes in the game for Colorado. Hammon and Cronin were the others.

Jia Perkins and Joanne Aluka scored 13 points a piece for the Fury, and Caufield added 10 points of her own.

With the win, Colorado won the 2005 NWBL Championship of the Americas, something they missed by just one game last season. Dallas defeated the Chill by four-points to win last season’s championship game, which was held in Dallas.

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 rules NWBL (Fort Collins Coloradoan, Saturday, April 2, 2005)

Chill's Cronin slows down DeForge with relentless 'D' (Fort Collins Coloradoan, Saturday, April 2, 2005)

Chill capture trophy (Greeley Tribune, Saturday, April 2, 2005)

Title game is thrill for Chill (Rocky Mountain News, Saturday, April 2, 2005)