If last month’s bouts were nail-biters, the spectators of this past Saturday’s thrillers will have left the Armory with bloody stumps for fingers. The first bout of the afternoon saw the Majority Whips squeak out a win over the DemonCats, while the second bout featured the end of Scare Force One’s nearly three-year unbeaten streak at the hands of the Cherry Blossom Bombshells.
Majority Whips 207 – 205 DC DemonCats
By special correspondent Rock Clobster
In the first bout of the day’s doubleheader, the DC DemonCats battled the Majority Whips, who were riding high after nearly toppling the Scare Force juggernaut last month-and defeating the ‘Cats earlier this season, 176-142. But the ‘Cats were hungry to nab their first Season 7 win since edging the Whips in last season’s third place game. After the DemonCats came back from a 33-point halftime deficit to trade the lead back and forth several times in the second half, the bout went down to the very last jam, with the Whips narrowly emerging to win by two, 207-205.
The very first jam, featuring All-Star jammers Jersey Jill (‘Cats) and Frightmare (Whips), ended in a 2-2 draw, indicative of the close match to follow. In the second jam, the Whips jumped out to a 22-5 lead, thanks to a powerjam where Nasty Pelosi survived a big hit by DemonCat Hoova Dayum to come out on top. The ‘Cats quickly struck back, with Kung Pow Kitten scoring 10 in the next jam, even after a smackdown by Maiden Sm’Akron. Seven minutes into the half, the Whips again scored big: With Mini Vandal sidelined after a track cut penalty, Frightmare took advantage of the powerjam to increase the Whips’ lead to 52-23.
The Cats would not stay quiet for long, however: Two jams later, Nina Ninja benefited from Fierce Compredator’s trip to the box to score 32-even after a big hit from Maiden Sm’Akron that sent Ninja flying into ref Screwy Decimal-to tie the score at 59-59. At the 13-minute mark, although Jersey Jill won lead jammer, she and most of her teammates ended up in the penalty box, allowing both teams to score in the full two-minute jam, which ended 93-67, Whips. Ninja stealthily increased the ‘Cats’ score in the next jam, adding 10 in a powerjam with Stabigail Adams sidelined, but Stabby came back in the following jam to return the favor, boosting the Whips’ lead by 40 points, assisted by teammate Dual Hitizen, who persistently paved her point-scoring pathway. After three scoreless jams, a Jill-Dual duel ended at 129-97, and Frightmare scored one more in the next jam to make the halftime score 130-97, Whips.
After halftime, it didn’t initially look good for a DemonCat comeback, after they earned only five points in the first eight jams. But strong defense and lots of penalties kept the Whips from running away with the lead, and at the 21-minute mark, Jersey Jill took advantage of a powerjam to score 25. Her teammate Hoova Dayum followed with seven more in her first start on the jammer line, and after a 38-3 run, the ‘Cats had narrowed the Whips’ lead to 13.
In the next jam, the ‘Cats scratched out their first lead of the day, when Kung Pow Kitten purred around the track for three scoring passes, ending at 150-148 in the DemonCats’ favor. After Nina Ninja added four more, the Whips’ Nasty Pelosi added 10 in a powerjam, but was kept from scoring more by the ‘Cats’ fearsome blocking combo of Bruisehilda and Ms. Judgment. With less than 12 minutes to go, Ninja surprised no one by scoring 13 in a powerjam and retaking the lead for the ‘Cats, 167-162; she did it again four jams later, increasing the DemonCat lead to 193-169.
But Ninja then had to sneak away to the penalty box, opening the door for the Whips’ Stabigail Adams, who had a 19-point powerjam to bring the Whips to within 5, 193-188. Frightmare scared up four more points in the next jam, narrowing the DemonCats’ lead to just one point. With 1:44 to go, it came down to the very last jam, with the Whips’ Dual Hitizen battling the ‘Cats’ Nina Ninja on the jammer line. Dual snagged the critical lead jammer status and wisely let the period clock run down; when the nail-biting bout ended, the Whips had cracked out a two-point win at 207-205.
Cherry Blossom Bombshells 189 – 171 Scare Force One
By special correspondent Lady Burn Johnson
The second bout of the evening saw the end of Scare Force One’s two-and-a-half-season winning streak come to an end at the hand of the Cherry Blossom Bombshells. Although the Fright Attendants leapt out to a comfortable 57-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Bombshells spent the rest of the bout patiently erasing it to end on top at 189-171.
At first, Scare Force showed the same relentless dominance that had assured them 15 victories in a row. After an 8-8 tie in the opening jam, Marion Barrycuda and Sharp Shredder blew things wide open with two whopping powerjams-24 and 30 points, respectively-that brought the score to 75-18 at the 17-minute mark. The Bombshells got their first chance to skate unopposed in the following jam; with ‘Cuda out on a back block, Jaminy Kricket powered through the crushing hits of Whips & Pains and Condoleezza Slice to pick up 19 points of her own, bringing the score to 75-37.
Scare Force spent the next five minutes holding the Bombshells to just two points while they packed on 20, thanks to some well-executed defensive teamwork that kept the Bombshell jammers trapped in the pack. With the score at 95-39, the Bombshells got the momentum shift they needed when Scare Force jammer Baby Daddy was sent to the box; Jaminy Kricket took a licking from Dyke Diggler and Helena Handbag but kept on ticking to earn 14 points to put the score at 95-53. For the next eight minutes, it was the Bombshells who displayed the defensive handiwork, closing out the half with a 26-10 run, thanks in large part to a penalty-heavy last jam that netted Yankee Scandal 15 points to Sharp Shredder’s four. Going into halftime up 105-79, Scare Force seemed likely-although far from certain-to continue their legacy.
Starting the first jam of the second half unopposed due to penalty carryover, the Bombshells wasted no time chipping into the point deficit, with Yankee Scandal posting nine points to bring the score to 105-88. Scare Force refused to let go, however, as Deadly Lamarr, Helena Handbag and Velocityraptor deftly recycled hits on The Ultimate Whorrior, keeping her in the pack long enough for Sharp Shredder to pick up 10, widening the gap again to 123-91.
Ten minutes into the half marked the turning point for the Bombshells; during a jam that saw every single Scare Force blocker (and jammer Sharp Shredder) in the penalty box at some point, Jaminy Kricket was able to pick up 25 points to even things out to 126-120. With their lead in serious jeopardy for the first time in the bout, Scare Force called a timeout to regroup. For the next five minutes, the Fright Attendants managed to keep their tenuous grasp on the lead, posting 12 points to the Bombshells’ four, but a box trip for jammer Baby Daddy opened the door for the Bombshells to come back. Despite Scare Force’s attempts to keep the pack fast, Yankee Scandal was able to pick up 15 points to put the Bombshells on top at 139-138 before being flattened by Whips & Pains and forced to call off the jam.
Baby Daddy returned to the track almost immediately in the following jam, but Artemis Conduct and Mya Bloody Valentine effectively kept her contained, allowing Bombshell jammer Hook N SlasHer to widen the lead to 153-138. Scare Force grabbed it back two jams later with a 25-point powerjam for Sharp Shredder that brought the score to 163-157, but Yankee Scandal soon answered with her own 20-point powerjam to put the Bombshells back on top at 177-166.
As the clock counted down the final four minutes of the game, Scare Force never managed to find the toehold they needed to regain control; the Bombshells earned lead jammer on four of the last five jams, notching 12 points to Scare Force’s five. With a final score of 189-171, the Bombshells secured their first victory over the Fright Attendants since Season 3.
With this win, the Bombshells have set themselves up for a rematch against Scare Force in May’s league championship. But first, Scare Force will try to restart their winning streak against the 0-5 DC DemonCats on March 30, while the Majority Whips will once again attempt to pull off an upset over the Cherry Blossom Bombshells. Those bouts take place, as almost usual, at the Armory. Check the DC Rollergirls website for all the details.
