Northridge Chills Out

Anyone watching the late-night ESPN2 telecast must have thought they were dreaming.

Cal State Northridge, a team that suffered the humiliation of its coach being arrested for distributing crack cocaine, a team that a few years ago was ranked among the worst five Division I teams, took it to Colorado State for 36 minutes.

But the game lasts 40 minutes and the Matadors finally succumbed to logic, form and the shooting of underrated Katie Cronin, 71-59, before a packed house of 8,741 in an NCAA first-round game at Moby Arena.

How close did upstart Northridge come to becoming the first 15th-seeded team to win since the women’s tournament went to a 64-team format in 1994?

The Matadors extended their lead to 55-48 with 5:50 to play on a jumper by Neda Milic.

But with the crowd roaring louder with every basket, No. 2-seeded and seventh-ranked Colorado State (32-2) scored the next 19 points.

Cronin plays in the shadow of All-American guard Becky Hammon, but the senior forward made a three-point basket to put the Rams ahead for good, 56-55, then scored six points in a span of 1:30 to put it away.

Hammon dropped the hammer on Northridge as well, making 16 of 20 free throws en route to 27 points. Cronin had 19 points.

The Matadors (21-8), who have no seniors on their roster, are left with more than their NCAA commemorative watches. The entire team that won the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament championships will return.

Edniesha Curry, Northridge’s All-Big Sky guard, was plagued by foul trouble and scored 11 points in 26 minutes.

Northridge harassed the Rams into 33.9% shooting, but blew numerous chances with bad passes and traveling violations. The Matadors committed 25 turnovers.

To the astonishment of the sellout crowd chanting “C-S-U” (they couldn’t have meant Cal State University, could they?), Northridge came out hustling, extended its lead to 12-5 on a three-pointer by Viveca Lof and didn’t give up the advantage until 3:20 remained in the half.

Lof, a center from Sweden who had made one three-point basket all season, answered Hammon’s three-pointer that tied the score, 21-21, with her second of the game and it put Northridge back on top with four minutes left in the half.

Less than a minute later, a free throw by Hammon gave the Rams their first lead, 25-24, but Northridge didn’t crumble.

Natalia Jonas made two free throws to wrestle back the lead, and Lynda Amari followed a Colorado State basket with a bank shot for Northridge’s last lead of the half, 28-27.

A layup by Angie Gorton with 1:05 left allowed the Rams to leave the floor ahead, 29-28, but with distressed looks on their faces.

The Matadors made eight of their first 13 shots, cooled off and finished the half 11 for 24. They committed 14 turnovers to Colorado State’s nine, but matched the Rams with 19 rebounds.

The Rams came out cold and stayed that way, making 11 of 32 shots in the half. Hammon was two for 10.

The tenacious play of forward Heather Haanen kept the Rams from falling farther behind early. She scored seven points and had six rebounds in the half, including four on the offensive end that resulted in second-chance baskets.

Curry made her only shot of the half, a three-pointer, and sat out the last four minutes with two fouls.

She picked up her third foul early in the second half and went back to the bench.