Wichita, KS

By PulHitzHer Prize

Defense was the star of the show in Game 2 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Wichita, as the Boulder County Bombers of Longmont, CO, USA (seed #8, WFTDA #58) defeated the Chicago Outfit of Chicago, IL, USA (seed #9, WFTDA #60), 162-82.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

Boulder County’s blockers were impressive, for one stretch holding Chicago scoreless while their jammers racked up 43 points over eight jams in the second half. The defense was led by CatastroPhoebe, Dinah Fire, Trixie Von Teaze, Elyse LeKraken, and Fleur de Beast.

Smashalotapus was the high scorer for both Boulder County and the bout, with 65 total points. Teammate Feist E. One had 48 points, while X-Ray Vixon had 36, and Sauce chipped in 13.

Boulder County held Chicago top jammer Lola Blow to 45 points, well below her season average of 73 points per game. Ice Hurt had 32 points for the team in white.

The final score was much closer the last time these two teams met, in June’s Great Salt Skate tournament. Boulder County took that victory, 230-181.

“We were really working to improve our walls [from the last meeting],” Boulder County Head Coach Papa Whiskey said. “We executed our offense, switching from defense to offense, and more quickly sending one back.”

Both teams utilized an inverted blocking strategy in Friday’s matchup, resulting in a punishing game of pinball for jammers. The fatigue took a toll on both sides, as evidenced by a lower scoring second half where jammers often took a minute or more of play to break through the pack.

“They had slow, strong walls. Our defense was our strongest, and this was a nice low-scoring game all around,” Chicago’s Lola Blow said, noting her team was missing two key blockers from the lineup.

In the first half Boulder County jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but Chicago found a spark when Lola Blow had a 19-point power jam. Feist E. One broke the game open for the Colorado crew in jam seven with a 25-point run, and they didn’t look back.

Boulder County went into halftime on a 32-4 scoring streak, despite four jammer penalties in the first half — during which Chicago scored 28 points. The team in black went into halftime with a 94-37 advantage.

The Colorado team continued building its lead a handful of points at a time in the second half. Smashalotapus, who secured lead jammer nearly 70 percent of the time, was penalty free and scored 29 second-half points.

Chicago did have a late surge with 12 points from Lola Blow and Ice Hurt on back-to-back power jams, but any momentum was cut short by the final whistle.

Next: Boulder County advances to Game 5 to face Jet City Rollergirls (#1/#42) at 6 p.m. Friday. Chicago Outfit moves to the consolation bracket and will play either the Nashville Rollergilrs (#3/#46) or Tucson Roller Derby (#6/#51) at 10 a.m. Saturday.

FINAL SCORE

Boulder County Bombers (#8) 162
Chicago Outfit Roller Derby (#9) 82