Naptown (#3) holds back surging Ohio (#5) to win second trip to Championships

By Vile Love It

Fans were hoping for a tight game. This was the battle bout; the one that decided who else besides Windy City and Minnesota was going to the 2012 WFTDA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, in November.

The Naptown Roller Girls (#3) from Indianapolis, Indiana, made the trip last year as the #3 North Central seed and have maintained that ranking the entire year through a busy season. The Ohio Roller Girls from Columbus, Ohio (#5) ended last year in ninth place but, through a grueling and very successful season, they pulled themselves up and entered the tournament ranked 5th.

“Our overall goal for the entire season was to go into Playoffs ranked higher than we were last year,” said Ohio’s Kill Basa. “We were in ninth place last year. We came into this year’s tournament in fifth and we are leaving in fourth and that exceeded our expectations.”

Photo by David Van Deman

The tone of the game might have been set three minutes before it even started when Naptown skaters went onto the track and set up. They didn’t wait for three minutes on their knees, but they obviously wanted that line for the first jam of the game. It worked, too. Naptown’s jammer got through and was able to score 7 points before Ohio’s jammer was able to set up for a scoring pass.

The next three jams were even handed and neither team gained an advantage. But then Ohio got their first power jam. They worked their offensive magic and their jammer was able to get through to score 23 points, pulling ahead of Naptown 27-7.

Naptown chipped away at the score. They won lead, grabbed their points and called it before Ohio could score. Even when Naptown’s jammer took another seat in the box, they still managed to put 9 points on the scoreboard. It helped that Ohio’s jammer took a turn sitting down that jam as well.

Both teams played a very fast game and it seemed that neither team could sustain any significant walls for long once the logjam at the start broke apart. But Naptown’s blockers were able to recycle and keep Ohio’s jammer behind them. Ohio was only able to score 8 more points in the first half, even when their jammer Phoenix Bunz leaped over the apex passing several players. She landed in bounds, in a heap on the floor, and called off the jam but after an official review it was decided she did not earn the points and they were taken off the board.

Naptown jammers won lead status 15 times compared to Ohio’s 6. It made all the difference. They used the pack speed to their advantage, darting, turning and spinning through. At times Naptown’s Amooze Booche looked like she was dancing just inside the outside line as she spun around blockers with a smile on her face.

At the half Naptown had a commanding lead 98-35.

“We played our game today. We had a plan and we executed it,” said Naptown’s Cereal Killer.  “In our game with Minnesota we made the adjustment too late.  Today we were able to execute it better.”

“We knew that Ohio was going to be a running type of team and that they were going to attack hard.  We came out strong and it was all about executing what we knew how to do,” said Naptown’s captain Ima Hurchu. “We played much cleaner today.  In the midst of trying to adapt [in the Minnesota game] we fouled.  Today we adapted before the game and were able to play cleaner.”

Photo by David Van Deman

Penalties impacted Ohio’s play more than Naptown’s, though Ohio only had a few more box minutes than Naptown (31 minutes, 5 spent by their jammers. Naptown had 26 minutes; 5 jammer minutes as well). It seemed that by the second half Naptown had command of the track and Ohio seemed to have lost the ability to advocate for their jammer when they had an advantage either on a power jam or when their jammer was the only one in the pack.

That isn’t to say that there weren’t stellar plays made by Ohio’s talented skaters, who were persistent and gutsy and showed no hesitation going in for a hit on one of Naptown’s skaters. But through lead jam status (Naptown won it twice as often as Ohio) and an intense defense, Naptown was able to shut down Ohio’s game and take the wind out of their sails.

“We're very excited about going to Champs,” said Cereal Killer. “All of the North Central teams excelled this past season and I've been impressed with all of the teams.  Ohio came out strong and made a huge statement this weekend. It was a pleasure to play them.”

Naptown maintained their control until the end and earned the right to represent the North Central region at the WFTDA Champsionships in November in Atlanta, Georgia.

But Ohio is going home happy, too.

“When you do have a small roster you have to capitalize on learning as much as you can and playing as smart as you can,” said Ohio’s Ava Tarr. “You learn everything you can and incorporate it into your own game. We learned a ton from playing Naptown.”

Naptown Roller Girls (#3) 222
Ohio Roller Girls 86