MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12 – "All the veterans were saying 'we've done this once and we do can it again.'"

Rookie Jammer Katarina Hit and rest of her team took this message to heart and skate Saturday night, as a packed Minneapolis Convention Center watched the Banger Sisters win their second consecutive bout, this time over the previously undefeated Kilmore Girls, with a convincing 87-73 victory.

The second jam in the bout put in the Banger Sisters ahead in a big way as they poured in 16 points. Jammer Torii Hunt Her claimed lead jammer and circled the pack four times while pivot Roller Vixen and a blocking line of SAWSQUASH, Miss Hannigan, and Mickey Dismantle held the Kilmores back from scoring. The bout swung to 21-5, and the Kilmore Girls were never able to crawl out of that hole.

"The Bangers put out probably their strongest and most aggressive line during the second jam," Kilmore pivot Slammy Wynette said. "I personally spent a lot of that jam getting knocked down and trying to catch up." Jammer Stalker Channing said that "We lost sight of their jammer (and) got caught up in reacting to what the Bangers were doing instead of taking control of the pack."

Blocker Jowanna Beatdown and pivot Sister Shotgun of the Banger Sisters attempt to thwart Kilmore Girl Tin Lizzy. Also pictured: outside pack ref Reefer-E, and Kilmore Girl Lex Calibur (seated). Photo credit: Fotodog.

The Banger Sisters took a strong 19-point lead into the second half, winning lead jammer six consecutive times to close out the first 20 minutes of play.

But as has been the case with every bout for the Kilmore Girls this year, they made a serious run after halftime. Jammers Rhea Lentless and tin lizzy both led 10-0 jams, and the team fought their way back to within 5 at 78-73 after the 23rd jam.

But this bout the rally fell short, as the Banger Sisters slammed the door shut with a 9-0 run to end the game. Tin lizzy's jammer time in the penalty box prevented any scoring chance for the Kilmores in the waning minutes. "Believe me, Betty is not happy when the jammers get penalties," the Kilmore captain said.

The victory was spearheaded by Torii Hunt Her's 39 points and Katarina Hit's 23, both jamming 7 times. Rhea Lentless scored 29 points on 9 jams, and tin lizzy netted 24 points in 8 jammer appearances on the track for the Kilmore Girls.

The Banger Sisters moved to 2-1 on the season, defeating the two teams that faced off in last year's championship in consecutive bouts. Are the Bangers now the league front runner? "I can't say that," Katarina Hit said, "everybody's awesome." "We're only halfway through the season and it's still any team's game," Banger Roller Vixen said, "any team that can bring it will win it!"

The bout was the Kilmore Girls' first loss this year, and it could bring about some changes in the team's plans. "We are going to use this bout as a learning tool and work on our strategy for next month," captain Betty LaRude said. Pivot Black Sunshine was even more direct: "we needed (this loss) to remind us of what it is we are fighting for… you will see something different in our Kilmore eyes when that first whistle blows on February 23rd."

"Overall," Jammer Stalker Channing believes, "as a team we look at this positively… we have some things to work on, but we also feel we played well, we played hard, and it was a good game no matter the outcome."

Game Notes:

• The announced attendance of 1,100 was the largest in league history. The bout start time was delayed to accommodate a large amount of fans still entering the doors.

• The Banger Sisters won lead jam 17 times compared to only 7 for the Kilmore Girls.

• The Banger Sisters had a jammer in the penalty box three different times, and the Kilmore Girls added two of their own during the bout.

+ There were three guest referees for this doubleheader:  Roller Dex of Naptown Roller Girls and Rev. Riot and Marshall Law from the Mad Rollin' Dolls.