OC Rollergirls: Psycho Exes 116, Bombshells 49
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA -- The Orange County Rollergirls opened their 2009 season with the Psycho Ex-Girlfriends pummeling the Back Bay Bombshells by a more than 2 to 1 margin, 116-49.
After a year of bouncing around the borders of Orange County, and even having a game between the Psychos and Bombshells shut down the evening before a game last July, this was the first game that featured the OC Rollergirls home teams in almost a year. And even then, those teams were playing a triple header against the Angel City Derby Girls, LA Derby Dolls, and Inland Empire Derby Divas, not each other. With no yardstick to measure the teams against each other, the team records were tabula rasa.
With a sold out crowd of 750 packing the Coast to Coast Inline Hockey Center, the Psycho Ex-Girlfriends came out swinging, with jammers Wonder Roller and B-Train throwing down 10 points in the first two jams while the Bombshells were held to zip. But Back Bay swung back with their defense taking full advantage of the Psycho’s pivot and blocker in the box, handily keeping PEG jammer Ice Cube in check while jammer Chris Cross scored their first 4.
Beantown Brawler was next up for the Bombshells, with the PEG’s once again paying tribute to The Box, this time with jammer Wonder Roller. Despite the Psycho’s focusing their firepower exclusively on jammer Beantown Brawler, she still slipped through their clutches to score another 3.
But the Psychos were still leading 10-7 and they weren’t going to let go without a fight, B-Train inking in 5 points with a clean pass and calling off the jam just as Wild Bella was exiting the pack. The ease with which B-Train escaped the Bombers defense shocked them into action as the Psychos fought the Bombshells from a 15-7 lead in the 5th to a 17-9 lead in the 8th jam.
The Bombshells were further aided in the 9th when the Psycho’s Ice Cube was once again got tossed in the box for cutting the track after scoring a single point, stranding PEG without a jammer. When she came back in the 10th, she acquired lead jammer, scored a point and called off the jam. In the meantime, jammer Chris Cross knocked back 7 for Back Bay, followed by a four point jam for Beantown Brawler before the smoke cleared, putting the Bombshells in the lead for the first time, 20-19.
Up to this point, the Psycho Ex-Girlfriends had been idling on the starting line. They lit their tires with a 4 point run by B-Train, gained traction with a double Grand Slam from Ice Cube, and were blazing the track with a triple Grand Slam from Wonder Roller. At 48-20 in the 13th jam, they weren’t done yet and only slightly eased back on the gas pedal. When the dust settled at the end of the half, the Back Bay Bombshells hadn't scored since momentarily taking the lead, and were faced with a 66-20 deficit.
As far as skills and tactics, the Bombshells were a match for the Psycho Ex-Girlfriends, but they’d lose focus on their mission, as blockers would react individually rather than using the resources of the whole defense. Then after a few jams, they’d once again have the defense strategies working. The Psychos rarely failed to have two blockers focused on the Bombshells bigger and more effective blockers like Brik Wall or Heather, while there were numerous lapses where Dirty Deborah Harry was clearly free to wreak havoc guarded only by chance opportunity or a single blocker.
True to form, the Bombshells came out strong in the opening jams of the 2nd half. If they weren’t able to stop the Psychos advance, they definitely seemed to slow it down. This was a battle of determined defense as the blocker penalty box attendance was frequent and consistent.
In the 1st jam, Back Bay snuck Beantown Brawler out of the pack, holding the Psychos’ Wrecky prisoner in the pack while two of their blockers pondered their crimes in the penalty box, leaving just enough time for B-Town to get lead jammer and score a Grand Slam for 5 and 25 percent score improvement: 66-25.
Through the majority of the half, things were going more to the Bombshells' liking -- with the exception of a big 10-3 jam for Psycho Ex Wonder Roller over Chris Cross. They were going nearly point for point in the final 30, with the score reaching 89-43 with about 6 minutes to play, but they couldn't afford to just keep the half even -- and eventually the Psychos would rev the engine again to close the game with three big jams.
Wonder Roller dropped an 8-3 on Wild Bella, B-Train kicked in a 5-0 for the Psychos, calling off the jam before Beantown Brawler could score, and Wonder Roller was back with a huge 14-3 to make the final margin 67 points at 116-49.
Stats
Wonder Roller stood high on a pedestal as the game’s top scoring jammer, scoring 60 points in 11 jams with a +44 differential and 5.45 points per jam ratio. B-Train was next with 32 points in 9 jams, a +27 differential and a 3.56 points per jam ratio, followed by Ice Cube with 19 points in 11 jams, a –4 differential and 1.73 points per jam ratio.
For the Back Bay Bombshells, Chris Cross scored 15 points in 7 jams with a +3 differential and 2.14 points per jam ratio, and Beantown Brawler scored 15 points in 12 jams with a –27 differential and 1.25 points per jam ratio.
OC is in WFTDA-sanctioned action this weekend, as their all-stars, the currently unranked Orange Crushers, take on Sacred City, ranked #5 in the West.
Photos: Kustom Kulture Photo
