Sacramento, CA

GOTHAM ALL-STARS TAKE 1ST PLACE; DENVER MILE HIGH CLUB TAKES 2ND

By Jezebelle Z. Bub

Top ranked, first seed and defending three-time international WFTDA champions the Gotham Girls All-Stars defeated the Denver Roller Dolls Mile High Club for the championship spot of the 2014 international WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in Sacramento, 193-89. Denver kept the score within reach for more than half of the game, but ultimately Gotham pulled away.

“Denver brought an awesome strong defense and I thought that our defense matched it,” said Gotham captain Bonnie Thunders. “That’s really what won the game, strong defense.”

In the first jam, Gotham's Bonnie Thunders slid through on the outside line while her blockers held back Denver jammer Sharpless. A hit from Bonita Apple Bomb knocked Sharpless to the floor. When Sharpless broke through the pack, Thunders called off the jam, collecting the first four points of the game for Gotham.

A Denver lead jammer status from Urrk’n Martin and then another one from Wilhelm turned the tides in Denver’s favor. Gotham blocker Hyper Lynx was sent to the penalty box, which lightened up Wilhelm’s load. And then Gotham jammer Vicious van GoGo joined Lynx, giving Wilhelm a chance to catch Denver up. Denver took the lead, 15-8.

Gotham’s airtight wall kept Denver jammer Sharpless back. She attempted a star pass but Gotham blocker Sexy Slaydie kept Sharpless far from her pivot, and Sharpless is ultimately sent to the box still with the helmet cover in hand. Meanwhile, Suzy Hotrod cured Gotham’s point deficiency and Gotham took back the lead, 18-15.

With Sharpless still in the box, Thunders seconds Hotrod’s advance. Sharpless emerged from the box, still trying to pass the star. The Gotham wall held, and Sharpless passed to Quigley, but Quigley didn't have much luck as jammer either. She gets sent to the penalty box. By the end of Thunder’s reign, she stacks 20 points onto the board.

Williams picks up lead jammer status and puts three points on the board for Denver, but Gotham is still in control, 42-18.

Vicious van GoGo takes a turn to carve out some points for Gotham, but a fumbled apex jump leaves her trying to call off the jam from the floor, but instead the refs sent her to the box for a low block penalty. Denver jammer Akers got her own penalty before the jam ended, and that puts GoGo back on the track. Despite the tumble, nobody passes GoGo—she collects 15 points.

An-almost-Denver-jam lead was stalled when Urrk’n Martin is sent to the box. Miss Tea Maven spiked Gotham's tally up to 72 points.

Denver blockers kept Thunders back half the circuit of the track. This left Thunders forced to pass the star to Violet Knockout, while Williams took some points for Denver, 81-44.

Hard falls from both jammers landed Gotham another scoring opportunity. First Denver’s Urrk’n Martin lands on all fours, and then Miss Tea Maven falls over Martin. Then both Maven and Martin are knocked on the floor by opposing blockers. Following an official review, this resulted in Gotham’s next turn starting with a power jam.

“I realized that I get a lot more penalties than I should,” said Denver jammer Urrk’n Martin. “They are a lot of swingers— they swing really good—but they still had a hard time getting past us.”

With 52 seconds on the period clock, Wilhelm faced Vicious van GoGo and came out on top, knocking over half the pack behind her. The first half ended with Gotham solidly in the lead, at 96-57.

The second half started with Gotham sending out their All-Stars to regain a tight hold of the championship spot. Increased focus and momentum for Gotham meant tight jams shutting down the scoreboard for Denver. Thunders, GoGo and Hotrod each take their turn spreading the point differential. Ten minutes into the second half, Gotham had built their lead to 126-61.

In the last 10 minutes, GoGo and Wilhelm met on the jam line. GoGo was knocked back hard by Denver blocker Lester. With a little help from blocker Akers, Wilhelm punched through the pack and grabbed four points— not significantly cutting into Gotham’s almost 100-point lead.

With under three minutes on the clock, Denver jammer Sharpless faced Gotham’s Thunders. Gotham blocker Puss’n Glutes made a hole, but Sharpless took it first. Sharpless grabbed lead and toe stops through on her second round to push that point differential down to 99.

Williams struggled passing Gotham blockers Hyper Lynx and Violet Knockout. Knockout earned her name and literally knocks Williams out of bounds and drives the Denver jammer back behind the pack. Hotrod fought the Denver blockers the entire circuit of the track to get ahead. Again, Williams is stopped strong by the Gotham blockers, finally knocking her out of bounds, and Denver out of the championship spot.

“We were surprised at how competitive the tournament was. Whether they were huge blow outs or super close, all the skaters were super respectable of each other, “ said Gotham blocker OMG WTF, who was named the tournament MVP. “I look forward to good competitive play in Nashville. Every single year, it seems like people are chomping right behind us, and it really lights the fire and makes us work even harder.

Gotham Girls All-Stars came in 1st and Denver Mile High Club in 2nd; both teams advance to the international 2014 WFTDA Championship October 31-November 2 in Nashville, Tennessee.

FINAL SCORE

(1) Gotham 193

(4) Denver 89