[0] CSUN'S DREAM SEASON HITS THE WALL : COLORADO ST. 71, CSUN 59.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

They almost pulled it off.

The Cal State Northridge women's basketball team, picked by no one to even stay with Colorado State for even a half, put a scare into the Rams before losing 71-59 Friday night in an NCAA Women's Tournament first-round game at Moby Arena.

The 15th-seeded Matadors (21-8), down by one at the half, held on to a lead for most of the second half but unraveled in a four-minute stretch late in the game when the second-seeded Rams went on a 19-0 point run.

Katie Cronin's two free throws gave Colorado State a 57-55 lead with 3:50 left. At that point, it seemed like the Rams, who were playing in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, were a little too much for CSUN.

Jacque Johnson made a steal for the Rams just 10 seconds later, and Cronin finished on the other end with an 8-footer to make it 59-55.

Cronin wasn't finished. She nailed a 3-pointer with 2:20 left to extend Colorado State's lead to 62-55.

Edniesha Curry, the Matadors' emotional leader and best player, picked up her third foul with 16:21 left. She didn't return until the 10:39 mark.

The Matadors picked up the pace without Curry. A steal and layup with Jamilah Jones gave CSUN a 43-37 lead with 13:19 left. The lead was 45-38 when Curry came back.

The lead reached seven again, 53-46, with 6-1/2 minutes left on Vivica Lof's 18-footer.

The partisan Colorado State crowd - at an estimated 8,500, by far the largest CSUN has played in front of this season - was in shock. The fans sat hushed through most of the first half as the Matadors stayed ahead of the Rams.

CSUN exploited the Rams' zone defense for four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, including two by Lof, a 6-3 reserve center.

Colorado State, which was playing at home for the first time since Feb. 20, was just 11 of 32 from the field (34 percent) in the first half. The Rams, who didn't lead until Hammon made two free throws with 3:33 minutes left that made it 25-24, missed 10 of 12 3-point attempts.

The Matadors stayed within a point (29-28) of the Rams at halftime despite committing 14 turnovers and having the same amount of rebounds, 19, as smaller Colorado State.

Curry, the second-leading scorer in the Big Sky, attempted - and made - only one basket in the first half: a long 3-pointer that gave CSUN a 5-1 lead.

The Matadors, who led by as many as seven points in the game's first 17 minutes, benefited from a shaky start by Hammon, who missed her first shot - a layup - and turned the ball over on the next Rams possession.

Colorado State missed 12 of its first 15 shots. Hammon was 3 of 10 in the first half. The poor shooting was reminiscent of the Rams' 24 percent (14 of 58) effort in a 65-49 loss to SMU in the WAC Tournament final.