North Central Semifinal: 1NC Windy City Escapes 4NC Naptown, 128-117

By Muckety Muck, Last updated Fri Mar 30 2012 12:48am

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Saturday’s nightcap to Monumental Mayhem lived up to its namesake. In the process, the defending North Central champs dodged a scare from the host squad. Propelled by co-captain Jackie Daniels’ 19-point late-bout power jam with under six minutes left, top-seeded Windy City advanced to the North Central finals following a 128-117 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Naptown.

The defending region champs face third-seeded Minnesota in the finals of the North Central region playoffs, set for Sunday at 6:20 pm Eastern. In the last undercard, Naptown faces NC2 Detroit in the third place bout.

Even though Windy City escaped the Circle City’s best with the win, the alarm sounded by the Tornado Sirens could be heard for three-quarters of the bout. Naptown sprinted out to a quick 14-0 lead as jammer Maiden America’s two-pointer was followed by a 12-point strike by Amooze Booche, giving the regional hosts a 14-0 lead. Windy City’s Varla Vendetta countered with six at 26:10 to cut the deficit to 14-6.

Naptown capitalized on a Beth Amphetamine track cut major to post seven power jam points by Majestic, extending Naptown’s lead to 21-6 with 24:25 left. The margin was short-lived as Windy City’s Yvette Yourmaker would post 20 points on a power jam prior to being sent to the box for a track cut, yet in the process the top seed posted its first lead of the night – a 26-21 edge with 21:50 remaining.

Another Amphetamine track cut penalty resulted in another power jam for Naptown. A 10-point strike ensued and broke the tie to give the Tornado Sirens a 38-28 lead with 17:30 left in the half.

An 8-4 Windy City run on the next jam narrowed the deficit to 42-36 at the 15:00 mark . Both teams would trade points as the half progressed which kept Naptown’s lead marginal at 55-51 as the final three minutes of the half approached.

Naptown finished the half with a 13-0 run sparked by Booche’s 7-point power jam at 2:40. America added two and Booche contributed four to finish the half, which saw the lower seed hold a 68-51 halftime lead.

Windy City started the second half with a 15-0 sprint as Daniels’ second-half opening ten was followed by Zoe Trocious’ five, which whittled the Naptown lead to two points, 68-66. But the Chicagoans again found themselves with a jammer down as Vandetta was sent off for a track cut at 24:30. America would post 19 in short order, widening the gap and giving Naptown an 87-66 edge.

Windy City countered with a 21-0 rally in the next four jams. Zoe Trocious’ 5-point powerjam was followed by Vendetta’s five and a nine-point strike by Daniels. Down by two, Amphetamine’s bout-tying pair at 16:10 knotted the game at 87-87.

Drama unfolded in the final fifteen as Windy City posted a 9-4 run to pull ahead 96-91 off of Trocious’ nine-point power jam at 13:40. Naptown’s Booche would net a powerjam of her own two minutes later - a 14-point tally that helped the Tornado Sirens regain the lead, 105-96. A 5-4 Windy City point swap from the next three jams narrowed the deficit to eight.

With 5:40 left, Booche was caught with a track cut, which resulted in a bout changing – and eventually bout winning – power jam for Jackie Daniels. Aided by a full Naptown penalty box and a veteran blocking schematic up front, Jackie collected 19 points, which gave the defending North Central champs a 120-113 lead.

Naptown’s Booche answered back with a five-pointer near the two minute point, narrowing the bout to a three point lead for Windy City. Jackie Daniels would collect three with 1:15 left to extend the lead back to 123-117, and went back to the track again to jam the final frame for Windy. With the near-capacity crowd on its feet in the final minute, Amooze Booche would be sent off for a back block which preserved the victory for Windy City, who outscored Naptown in the second half 77-49.

Daniels paced Windy City unofficially with 48 points while Booche scored 53 for Naptown.