Nashville (#5) holds up against Omaha (#8)

By Shelly Shankya

Omaha Rollergirls (#8) controlled the bulk of the first half against Nashville Rollergirls (#5) in the penultimate bout of Day 2 of Landlocked Lace Up.

Photo by Taura Horn Photography

Omaha opened up the score with a power jam when Nashville's jammer Sugar Magmaulya went to the box for a major low block, finishing the jam with Omaha 36, Nashville 6. The ladies from Music City didn't let that slow them, however, as Sugar came back from the penalty box to score 25 unanswered points. It wasn't until Omaha got into penalty trouble, with several blockers in the box and Anna Maniac's major back block, that Nashville took the chance to advance.

The lead change in the nineteenth jam of the first half courtesy of 4-Leaf Roller's 32-point jam was followed up by another power jam for Nashville, as team captain Britches N Hose scored another 19 points. What had been an early lead for Omaha turned into a 19-point differential in Nashville's favor at the end of the first half. Omaha went to the locker room at 76, Nashville at 95.

"We had to pull it together at the half," Nashville jammer Sugar Magmaulya said. "We knew that we had to break them apart to keep our game going. We play better as a unit, and that's what we focused on discussing during halftime and executing during the second half."

The second half saw Nashville with lead jammer status for the majority of the time; 16 times they grabbed lead jammer status during the 25 jams of the period. All of the deficits that the ladies from Music City had in the first half turned to strengths in the second. Their pack rolled at high speeds and made thoughtful plays to keep their jammer in scoring position. Omaha tried to mount a comeback with just over five minutes in the remainder of the game, but it was too little, too late. Omaha jammer Eblastagirl scored 20 points on a power jam, followed by three lead jammer calls. Nashville came out victorious over Omaha, 198-126.

"I transferred to Nashville in April (from Blue Ridge Rollergirls in Asheville, NC) and have been working with the team for the last six months to get where we are tonight," said Sugar Magmaulya, who scored 93 points in the game, despite having played the last six years as a blocker. "We spent today focusing and making sure we could pull it back together."

Nashville moves on to play for 5th Place on Day 3, and Omaha will play for 7th.

Nashville Rollergirls (#5) 198
Omaha Rollergirls (#8) 126