MADISON, WI -- MRD Championship bout version 4.0.
The Reservoir Dolls and Quad Squad have vied for the league championship all four seasons of the league’s existence. The two teams provided the best game in league history last year with a last-jam, come-from-behind win for the ResDolls behind Mouse’s grand slam and Dutch Oven’s defense. Emotions were high on both sides as the teams skated out for their intros, and not without a tinge of sadness as the crowd learned of the departure of two of the league’s four-year players.
The two teams understood the scoring threats of the opposition’s star jammers - the ResDolls’ Mouse and the Quads’ Thunder Kitten. Mouse is pure speed and acceleration, Thunder Kitten a scoring phenom, averaging over 40 points a game behind her team’s pack play. Both defenses were up to the task early. Even though Thunder Kitten scored nine in the opening two-minute jam, the ResDolls Dutch Oven matched her with seven, and the game was on.
The Reservoir Dolls patiently added four points in the each of the three following jams, Mouse and Thunder Kitten both being stuffed by the other’s defense. In the sixth jam, the Quads shut down the Dolls’ Dutch Oven, Predator landing a particularly hard hit on the ResDolls jammer. Jenny Knoxville provided the points to complement her defense, scoring 13 with her mobility and strength, resulting in the first real separation of the night with a 34-24 Quads lead.
After this outburst, the Reservoir Dolls’ defense stepped up, holding the Quads to five points over the next seven minutes and six jams. It was clear the ResDolls were willing to grab the scoring advantage without the lead, forcing the Quads into a defensive position while risking the penalties that go with such a strategy. This strategy back fired in the 13th jam, when Dutch Oven scored four but went to the box. Jenny Knoxville called the jam after three of her own, giving Lil’ Miss Behavin’ 41 seconds in which to score with the Reservoir Dolls’ jammer in the box. The Quad Squad are nothing if not smart, and the play worked. Lil’ Miss Behavin’ put up a grand slam as the half came to an end, her teammates jubilant on the bench. The score at half was Reservoir Dolls 48, the Quad Squad 47.
Whatever restraints the Reservoir Dolls were able to keep on Thunder Kitten disappeared in the second half. With two ResDolls in the box to start, the Quads all but stopped the pack while Thunder Kitten roared for 13 points. Mouse tried to answer with 11 in the third, but TK poured it on, scoring 12 in the fourth and 13 more in sixth. It was a shattering scoring performance, Thunder Kitten putting up 38 points in three jams, and the Quad Squad found themselves ahead by 20, 91-71 with a little over 11 minutes remaining.
With the score blown open, the Quads turned purely defensive play, grabbing the lead simply to control game play. Mouse tried to repeat last year’s heroics, sprinting to nine in the ninth jam and closing the gap to 94-85. With 2:43 remaining, and the point spread still reachable for the ResDolls, both teams called time outs. Play resumed with Jenny Knoxville playing the defensive jammer, but Tatum Tantrum dodged the hit and grabbed the lead. As Tatum was entering her scoring pass, Knoxville accelerated from the back and leveled her with a side check. The refs called an injury timeout. After some time on the track, Tatum was able to stand and return to the bench.
When play resume, Mouse matched up against Thunder Kitten, but this time it was Thunder Kitten with the lead, and the game was sealed. After one final jam with 24 seconds on the clock, it was all over, the Quad Squad regaining the league title with a 98-87 win.
It was a perfect season for the Quad Squad. Defense, offense, and opportunity were all hallmarks of a mature squad. For Thunder Kitten, who rarely jammed last year, it was a season of superlatives. Not only did she set a season scoring record of 228 points, but her finals performance of 59 points was a single game record as well.
Coda
And those departing players that lent an air of sadness to the night? Vanna Whitetrash skated her last time in a Quad Squad uniform, headed to Austin along with her husband. Vanna’s departure was delayed a full year, and fans will never know her dedication to the Mad Rollin’ Dolls. For four years Vanna has driven an hour to Madison from Delafield even as the Brew City Bruiser league came into being.
And skating in the Reservoir Dolls uniform for the last time it was none other than Crackerjack. For even those in the know, the news was a shock. CJ brought flat track derby to Madison and has overseen the league for over four years. Her acumen and charisma are rare in any one person, and she has it in boat loads. Skater, coach, entrepeneuse, and to top it all off, WFTDA President.
CJ skated the first half in black, the second in white. Did the dichotomy have a meaning? Yeah, I’ll have to ask her that, but I expect either a wry smile or a complete denial.
And what are CJ’s plans for the immediate future? She’ll still skate for the Dairyland Dolls until the fall. This correspondent has joked that a certain Texas Roller Derby league is conspiring to draw roller girls from all over the country to its bosom. Where, you ask? Hell, it’s Austin, stupid. CJ’s reasons are personal, though. She’s accomplished so much in Madison, her home town, and the move to Austin is a move to a new adventure. She’ll still skate, still be with family with sister Lucille Brawl, and still be Crackerjack.
In her closing comments to the crowd at Saturday’s finals, Reservoir Dolls captain Mouse spoke for all the skaters in wishing Crackerjack well and stating the obvious, that without Crackerjack there would be no Mad Rollin’ Dolls.
Photos: Ziv Krueger (bout action), Menacing Buddha (Crackerjack)
