Sacramento, CA

Terminal City rolls through Kansas City to advance for fifth / sixth place.

by Shelly Shankya

In a re-match of their game in May at the Big O Tournament, Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (seed 5, rank #18) finished with a repeat win over Kansas City Roller Warriors of Kansas City, Missouri, USA (seed 8, rank #33) in Game 10 of international WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Sacramento.

photo by David Costa

Despite coming off of the jammer line with the first points in the game, Kansas City jammers Peter Babriel, Enigma, and Dr. Dread weren’t able to fend off the defensive power of Terminal City blockers Harvey, Mackenzie, and Buffy Sainte Fury to make a substantial dent in Terminal City’s dominating game play. Pack speed in the opening minutes of the game stayed relatively slow, as blockers from each team vied for position. In fact, jammers often worked for a full minute prior to lead jammer status being called.

One feature of the game that seemed atypical for both teams was the numerous star passes that occurred during both periods. During the first half alone, Kansas City passed the star cover three times, and Terminal City twice. Kansas City used the star pass to staunch the point bleed, whereas Terminal City used the passes as jammers flagged. Kansas City scored only one jam in the double digits—Enigma’s 13-point jam in the fifteenth jam of the game. However, Terminal City scored four double-digit jams, starting with Simonius Smaximus’ 15-points, followed by another 10 from Smaximus, 25 from Maiden Sane, and then another 10 from Smaximus.

The period ended with Terminal City in the lead by nearly double the points, 96-54 over Kansas City. “We had an idea of what we were coming into, and we wanted to bring our A-game,” Terminal City blocker Buffy Sainte Fury said. “We played a lot of offense.”

In the 19 jams of the second period, Kansas City was scoreless for 11, and that was precisely not what the Roller Warriors wanted against the Vancouver natives. Terminal City used the halftime to hone their defensive blocking against Kansas City, holding Warriors behind walls that recycled relentlessly as Kansas City primarily used passive offense. In two moments of momentum, Kansas City managed to pull off a 14-point jam by typical-blocker-turned-jammer Bella Fire, followed by Enigma’s 15-points just two jams later; each jam was unanswered by Terminal City.

As the clock wound down, Terminal City sealed their trip to the fifth/sixth placement game on Sunday. Their strong defensive blocking featuring rock-solid recycling, as well as their jukey jammers aided Terminal City’s gains, more than doubling their halftime lead over the Warriors. Terminal City won 263-115 over the Kansas City Roller Warriors.

“We’re excited to play tomorrow against either team,” Buffy Sainte Fury said. “We’ve played Santa Cruz, and they’re a good team. And we love Tampa. They’re a force to be reckoned with.”

Terminal City advances to play the winner of Game 11, Tampa Bay vs. Santa Cruz, on Sunday for fifth/sixth place. Kansas City continues in the consolation bracket against the loser of that game.

Final Score

Terminal City Rollergirls (#5) 263

Kansas City Roller Warriors (#8) 115