FEASTERVILLE, PA -- On Saturday, March 15, Philly's local Heavy Metal Hookers team continued a remarkable resurgence by defeating the Debutante Brawlers, a visiting local team from Carolina Roller Girls, 77-65. After starting their existence 1-6 over the course of the first two Philly home seasons, the Hookers have now won two in a row in 2008 against tough interleague competition.
A near-capacity crowd looked on as the first match-up in the doubleheader started with Robin Drugstores jamming for the Hookers and Carolina's Holly Wanna Crackya wearing the star for the Brawlers. Crackya picked up lead jammer status but was only able to gain one point before calling off the jam after just over one minute. Mandawar followed her effort by earning LJ and converting it into the first 4 points of the evening for the Hookers. That jam also saw a hit of questionable legality from Hooker Wreckin' Eyez that kept opposing jammer Faye Tality scoreless -- and also kept her out of the action for the remainder of the evening.
The Hookers never surrendered their lead. Wendy Whiplash's effort in the fourth jam - a 12-2 decision over Deviled Legs - and a virtuoso performance by former Carolina skater Teflon Donna - a 15-0 run against Legs just four jams after Wendy's outing - helped to seal the Hookers' advantage early in the bout. In the latter jam, Teflon took full advantage of a one-minute penalty to Legs: though she was declared lead jammer, Teflon let the clock run to its two-minute limit and racked up a pair of extra points for lapping the pack with her counterpart in the box.
Gameplay was far from one-sided, however. The Brawlers were able to shut down and shut out the Hookers' offense in eight of the bout's first fifteen jams, while simultaneously beginning to chip away at the Philly skaters' lead. In consecutive jams midway through the period, Holly Wanna Crackya and MC Fyte were awarded LJ and used it to their advantage for a pair of 4 to 0 jams. Starting jam twelve with 40 seconds left on a penalty to Hookers' jammer Mandawar, Holly had the Brawlers' best outing of the night with 11 unanswered points. In each of the final two jams of the first frame, the Brawlers again shut out the Hookers for a 6-point boost from their jammers, Crackya and MC Fyte. The half-time score stood at 47 to 36 in favor of the Hookers.
The bout's second period was all defense, as few jammers were able to leave the track with more than 4 points to show for their efforts - with some noteworthy exceptions. Teflon added to her total with shut-out Grand Slam jams for five points each in the fourth and fifteenth sessions. With Hookers' jammer Ivana Rock looking on from the penalty box in the sixth jam, Brawlers' captain Shirley Temper sacrificed lead jammer status in favor of a quick first pass. Though she received two penalties, she avoided the penalty box and collected 10 shutout points on her subsequent passes as the jam ran the full two minutes.
In jam eight, Temper again shut out the Hookers with a 5 point jam against Mandawar. Though the score remained close throughout the evening, the visiting team was never able to take the lead and the final period ended after seventeen jams with a total of 77 for the Hookers to 65 for the Brawlers.
Stats
High scorers for the Brawlers were Holly Wanna Crackya with 26 points in 11 jams for a 2.36 average per jam, followed by Shirley Temper and MC Fyte with 18 points a piece; Temper averaged 2.25 in 8 jams while Fyte produced and average of 2.0 average 9 jams. The Brawlers earned Lead Jammer in 12 out of 32 jams.
As pivot, Fyte led her team by limiting the opposition to an average of 2.0 points against per jam over 9 attempts, followed by Shirley Temper's 2.25 in 8 jams. Temper had the highest minor penalty count with 16, but also lead her team in blocking. Kitty Crowbar and Deviled Legs were each assessed 14 minors and, along with Elka Meano, contributed the majority of their team's blocks. Shirley Temper (22:51), Kali (22:40), and Kitti Crowbar (20:06) had the most time on the track on their team.
For the Hookers, the high scorers were Teflon Donna with 43 points in 9 jams for a 4.78 per jam average, followed by Wendy Whiplash's 19 points in 6 jams, a 3.17 average per jam. Ivana Rock contributed 11 points in 6 jams for a 1.83 points per jam average. The Hookers earned Lead Jammer status 17 jams out of 32 total.
Mandawar was the most successful pivot for the Hookers, allowing just 0.45 points against her team in 11 jams. Ivana Rock held the competition to 1.78 in 9 tries. Mandawar, Robin Drugstores, and Val Halla were had the highest minor penalty counts for the Hookers at 16, 15 and 14 respectively. Drugstores had the most blocks at 10, while Mandawar and Wreckin' Eyez added 9 more each. Drugstores (25:12), Mandawar (23:31), and Ivana Rock (21:54) saw the most track time.
After two intraleague contests in a row, the Hookers get their first shot at a local rival when they take on the Broad Street Butchers on Saturday, April 12. Carolina's Brawlers also re-enter intraleague action, getting it on with Carolina's Tai Chi-tahs on Sunday, April 20.
