Vaudeville Vixens and Unholy Rollers Advance to MRD Championship

Published May 11, 2010 at 2:52 p.m.

The Vaudeville Vixens confidently skated into the finals on May 22 with a 128-104 win over the Quad Squad. The Unholy Rollers came from behind to topple the Reservoir Dolls, 123-115, pitting them once again against the Vixens for the league title.

Vaudeville Vixens 128, Quad Squad 104

In a near replay of their last bout two short weeks ago, the Vaudeville Vixens held off a tenacious Quad Squad to roll into MRD’s finals, 128-104.

At the nine-minute mark in the first half, the Quad Squad held a 37-29 lead. Darling Nikki erased that with a 13-point jam. Major Kusaknocky followed with nine more points, and the Vixens took the lead, 51-40. The Quad Squad defense stiffened again, and the teams went into the half with the Vixens on top, 59-51.

Early in the second half, the Quad Squad crept back to within two points, 60-62. After this, the Vixens went into machine mode. Capturing nine of the next ten leads – highlighted by twin 15-0 power jams from Sugalumps and Darling Nikki ­– the Vixens blew the game open 122-75.

There shouldn’t have been any drama after this, but the Vixens managed three jammer penalties in the next two jams, and the Quad Squad erased 20 points from the Vixen lead. With Major Kusaknocky starting the final jam in the penalty box, the Quad Squad still trailed by 29, but with a 5-2 advantage on the track. It didn’t end pretty, but the Vixens held on and will defend their 2009 championship.

With 34 points in the game, Vixen rookie Sugalumps reached 188 points for the season, tying the rookie season scoring record, set last year by both Juke Boxx and Charlie Hustle. Expect her to set a new record in the championship game. Major Kusaknocky and Darling Nikki both had 43 points for the Vixens.

Aleta the Hon led the Quad Squad scoring with 39 points, followed by Lil’ Miss Behavin’ with 36. Aleta has been chasing the rookie scoring record, too, with 164 total points so far this season. The Squad’s Kit Shickers led all skaters in track time, skating 21 of 35 jams.

Unholy Rollers 123, Reservoir Dolls 115

Despite a 31-point lead early in the second half, the Reservoir Dolls never quite shook the Unholy Rollers, who mounted a late comeback for a dramatic 123-115 victory. It was sweet revenge for Unholies after a narrow loss to the Res Dolls on Feb. 14.

The Reservoir Dolls pack dominated the first half, with 12 of 21 possible leads, but play was close for both sides. The Res Dolls only managed eight points on their one power jam opportunity, and Jewels of DeNile and Charlie Hustle traded seats in the penalty box in jam 19 to negate another breakout chance for both teams. At the half, the score was 68-48 in favor of the Reservoir Dolls.

The Res Dolls maintained that 20-point cushion for most of the second half. Following a 10-0 power jam from Vicious van GoGo, the Res Dolls held their biggest lead at 87-56. The Unholy Rollers quickly closed the gap as Twisted Halo, coming out of the penalty box, passed the jammer star to Jewels of DeNile. Jewels score 19 points while the Unholy pack kept Res Dolls jammer Paine Mansfield from clearing the pack for most of the jam’s two minutes.

The gap closed to 13 at one point, but grew back to 19 at the 10-minute mark. With less than seven minutes to go, the game changed as Charlie Hustle went to the penalty box for a major forearm foul. With a 5-3 skater advantage, the Unholy Rollers stopped the pack and Twisted Halo put up 19 points before the jam whistle blew. The score was now tied at 113-113.

Twice late in the game Vicious van GoGo grabbed lead jammer against Jewels of DeNile and called the jam for no points. This is no mean feat. Jewels is always a dangerous opponent, and keeping her off the scoreboard is always a victory. One of these occasions was after the game-tying jam. Little could the Res Dolls know that the Unholy Rollers’ time out was to rest Jewels and put her back on the jammer line once again. Jewels grabbed five points, and baited Rosetta Stoned into committing a 20-foot blocking violation before she called off the jam. The Unholy Rollers led 118-113.

Mouse grabbed lead in the subsequent jam, but Twisted Halo was right behind her. Two more Reservoir Doll points, and it was 118-115, with 1:35 remaining to start what would become the night’s final jam. Jewels toed the jammer line again against Charlie Hustle, but drew a major penalty for cutting the track. It was the Unholies’ defense that saved the game. Two crushing hits from Mauly Tov on Charlie Hustle, and back containment from Wild Berry Punch kept Charlie from ever clearing the pack. Jewels broke out of the box and raised her arms in victory after completing a five-point pass before time ran out.

It was a thrilling win for the Unholy Rollers, a crushing loss for the Reservoir Dolls. With only a few veterans from their two championships still on the roster, the Res Dolls had a great team-building year. For the Unholy Rollers, the loss of Mack the Knife to a knee injury in the Feb. 14 bout seemed to spell the end of their championship hopes. But the story isn’t over until the final word is written.

As she has proven during the regular season and in interleague, Jewels of DeNile is a clutch player. Held in check much of the second half, she came through at the end when it mattered most, and took the star in three of the game’s last four jams. It was the quiet, effective Unholy pack that made it all possible, however, especially as they killed a last jam power-jam disadvantage.

Jewels of DeNile led her team with 52 points. Twisted Halo, keeping up with Suglalumps on the rookie scoring run, had 44 and goes into finals with 165 points for the season.

In another understated but stellar performance, Vicious van GoGo led her team with 34 points, a 28-point advantage on the jam, and led her team in defensive effort. Charlie Hustle led in Res Dolls scoring with 40 points, and Mouse added 29 points while breaking the career 900-point milestone.

The Reservoir Dolls finish the season against Quad Squad in the finals’ grudge match, while the Vaudeville Vixens and Unholy Rollers lock horns and ears for the 2010 league championship on May 22. The bout will be at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center. The bout starts at 6 p.m. and the doors open at 5 p.m.

Geoffrey Saucer

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