Wichita, KS

By PulHitzHer Prize

The local favorite Kansas City Roller Warriors All Stars of Kansas City, MO, USA (seed #5, WFTDA #50) delivered a victory to fans in Game 8 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Wichita with a 182-150 win over the Carolina Rollergirls All Stars of Raleigh, NC, USA (seed #10, WFTDA #62).

Photo by Bill Zingraf

The first half was a back-and-forth battle — it looked like a typical argument about which town’s barbecue is better. But high-scoring jams in the second half helped Kansas City advance to a second Saturday game in the consolation bracket.

“After yesterday [loss to Brandywine Roller Derby] we regrouped, looked at mistakes we made. We saw things we were working on in the pack, reacted and fixed it faster today,” Kansas City blocker Rump Wrecker said.

The first half started slowly and was dampered by an ankle injury to Carolina jammer The Ish in the third jam. She later watched from the bench.

Once Kansas City got rolling, they went on a 15-1 run thanks to jammers Sk8l Attraction and JessiKaboom.

Carolina kept adding points, though, and seemed to catch a late-half spark when regular blocker Aurora Thunder donned the jammer star, quickly got lead jammer status, then capitalized on a power jam to put her team ahead by three points.

But Kansas City jammer Lady Killshot took that lead right back, and her squad didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game. The Roller Warriors went into halftime with a 61-55 advantage.

The second half was more explosive, thanks in large part to Kansas City’s JessiKaboom, who put up 37 of her game-high 52 points in that 30-minute stretch.

Her teammate Peter Babriel posted an 18-point effort in jam three while blockers Enigma, Foxxi Brown, and Bit kept Carolina off the scoreboard.

Carolina answered back with a 15-point jam from Ava Gore. She and teammate Ginger Clobbers handled most of the jamming duties for Carolina in a small rotation and finished the game with a combined 87 points.

Kansas City pulled away with a 16-point jam by Love Tap. All of those points came after she served a track cut penalty early in the jam. Her blockers Bit, Enigma, and Mayhem Myers killed the power jam during her 30-second absence.

That momentum boosted JessiKaboom to a 25-point jam midway through the half. Her multiple apex jumps thrilled the crowd as she lapped the track.

Carolina ended the game, their second loss of the tournament, on a high note. Jammer Ginger Clobbers faced a tough Kansas City defense, taking a big knockdown before breaking through the pack. But she came back around to do her own opponent-flattening on her way to a 22-point final jam.

“They were really fun to play. They did a good job of offense, and their jammers were really gritty,” Rump Wrecker said of Carolina. The Raleigh team was led by blockers JoJo Gadget, Electra Q. Tion, Grim Carrey, and Crank Dat Crank.

Kansas City’s top jammers were JessiKaboom and Peter Babriel with 44 points, Lady Killshot with 43, and Love Tap with 26.

Next: Kansas City advances in the consolation bracket to face the Boulder County Bombers (seed #8) in Game 11 at 6 p.m. Saturday. Carolina will play Chicago Outfit (seed #9) for ninth Place in Game 13 at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Final Score

Carolina Rollergirls (#10) 150
Kansas City (#5) 182