Saint Paul, MN

by The Oxford Commakaze

The hometown Minnesota Rollergirls of St. Paul, Minn., (Omaha #3) jumped to a crowd-pleasing early lead with a hard-fought 4-0 opening jam over the Texas Rollergirls of Austin, Texas, (Dallas #2) pushing for more than 40 seconds before Jacked Pipes was crowned lead jammer. Even the most diehard Minnesota fan likely expected that lead would be shortlived — after all, the Texas Rollergirls have a superstar roster and a top-5 ranking. Instead, Minnesota dug its claws into the lead and held it all the way through the first half, although the score remained far from secure.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

“That was I think for a lot of us the biggest game we’ve ever played. What a way to go out in our season, this upward trajectory!” said Minnesota’s madrad. “Just making it out of D1 and then playing at home for our friends and family — this is the pinnacle of a lot of our careers. Today a lot of us are just trying to contain our excitement, stay focused, not get ahead of ourselves, not take for granted the progress we’re having in our game.”

After three unanswered jams for Minnesota, Texas finally hit the scoreboard in a jam that saw Bloody Mary bust out for lead but quickly get reabsorbed by Second Hand Smoke, finally emerging and scoring, but not before pivot-turned-jammer Yekaterina Lapitsky could pick up 4 points to Bloody Mary’s 3, inching Minnesota’s lead to 16-3. Jacked Pipes added to the lead by racing up the inside past Trauma, who closed the gap a hair too slow, posting four points, and Shiver Me Kimbers put up the first double-digit jam in the next jam despite lead jam status going to Texas’ Hauss the Boss.

Both teams relied heavily on helmet cover stashes and passes, immediately removing their helmet covers the second the opposite team gained lead to provide the flexibility to dash out or hand the cover off as necessary, which Minnesota’s Fannie Tanner employed expertly to keep Bloody Mary to just 3 points. Jacked Pipes shoved past a Texas two-wall of Barbara Ambush and Polly Gone for another 10 points as Texas’ blockers remained a step behind and looked a bit surprised at Minnesota’s drive. Texas’ Hauss the Boss pulled out a grand slam as Shiver Me Kimbers immediately passed the helmet cover to contain the damage, but Minnesota quickly recovered those lost points and more in a power jam as Texas’ Bloody Mary got a misconduct trying to step over a downed Minnesota blocker, pulling the score to 63-26 with just over 15 minute left in the half.

Photo by Keith Bielat

Although Minnesota’s luck hadn’t entirely run out as it clung to the lead, Texas earned a string of lead jammer calls and point runs that seemed to put the writing on the wall for Minnesota. Hauss the Boss picked up lead jammer with just over 10 minutes left and put up 5 points, but Fannie Tanner was hot on her heels and managed to steal points out from under Hauss for a 6-5 jam in Minnesota’s favor. Bloody Mary picked up a 15-point power jam after Shiver Me Kimbers struggled to get past Texas blocker Stone Her and ultimately went to the box after half-hugging the opposing blocker in an attempt to stay in bounds earned a forearms penalty. Point runs for Fifi Nomenon and Olivia Shootin’ John built Texas’s comeback, despite stalwart blocking by Polly Punchkin and Shiva Shankn. By halftime, Texas had narrowed Minnesota’s lead to just four points, 100-94.

Minnesota continued its trend of stealing points on what should have been Texas’s jams by opening the second jam with a 6-4 jam in Texas’ favor as Hauss the Boss ran a jam long but ended up halted by Minnesota’s madrad for a score of 104-98. The game’s first lead change came just one jam after as Fifi Nomenon stumble-jumped her way to lead jammer while her blockers kept Second Hand Smoke fully contained for a score of 108-112 in Texas’ favor. A leadless jam right after put the score back in Minnesota’s favor as Smarty Pants struggled behind flying Minnesota blockers, but Shiver Me Kimbers’ triumphant jam ended with a forearm penalty as she called the jam, opening the door for the game’s third lead change as Hauss the Boss’s famous toe stops kept her strong on her feet for a 116-120 lead change for Texas. But for the fourth lead change in a row, a huge power jam for Jacked Pipes as she dodged her way past Texas’s Jackie Daniels and Polly Gone gave Minnesota the lead again, 131-120.

Photo by Steve Jurkovic

Snappy offense from Polly Gone helped Hauss the Boss narrow the lead, but a painfully slow scoreless jam 4-point for Fannie Tanner in which no lead jammer was called for almost 1:50 signaled a major shift in game play, although Minnesota remained in charge with less than 20 minutes remaining in the game. Just one hit-and-quit from Fifi Nomenon changed that, though, as her painstaking 4-point jam after taking 1:10 to escape the pack pulled the game to a tie.

One more 4-point pass for Minnesota broke the tie, but that was Minnesota’s last lead of the game with under 15 minutes remaining in the game. Hauss the Boss snagged the lead back for Texas by cleverly running the jam out even after an exhausted Second Hand Smoke broke through for an initial pass for a score of 141-146 for Texas. Both teams traded low-scoring jams with Texas eking just a little bit more out of each devastatingly slow jam, in which jammers regularly required 40 seconds or more just to make an initial pass to earn lead jammer. A leadless jam with just over seven minutes remaining finally pulled Texas into a double-digit lead, bringing the score to 165-152 after Texas’ blockers successfully kept Fannie Tanner from escaping the pack for the full two minutes despite a Minnesota power jam.

Although Minnesota pulled out its stockpiled timeouts and official reviews, Texas could not be caught and solidified its lead with a 12-point jam for Fifi Nomenon as she skated through almost untouched while Minnesota’s exhausted jammers tried to shove through. One final push for Minnesota pulled the game almost within reach, but the rush came too late with just one minute left on the clock and a 25-point deficit. Despite a 17-point final jam by Shiver Me Kimbers, Texas’ vaunted defense proved insurmountable for a final score of 185-173.

FINAL SCORE

Texas Rollergirls (Dallas #2) 185
Minnesota Rollergirls (Omaha #3) 173