REPORTED 3,100 ON HAND TO WATCH LOCALS IN OHIO
by The Grand Poobah (statistical information provided by Derby News Network via the Cincinnati Roller Girls Internet boutcast)
(CINCINNATI, OH) The weekend trip by St. Louis’ best on quads to the Buckeye State to battle the squads of the Cincinnati Rollergirls was characterized by impressive scoring performances, plenty of bone-jarring hits and track-shaking action by both leagues.
It only seems apropos that when the dust had settled, both cities had earned a split.
In front of 3,100+ at the historic Cincinnati Gardens Saturday night, CRG’s Black Sheep upended ARRG’s All-Stars 134-68 while the St. Lunachix defeated the Silent Lambs 89-39 in the developmental undercard.
CRG BLACK SHEEP 134 ARRG ALL-STARS 68
The Black Sheep, currently #16 in the most recent Derby News Network’s Power Rankings, got out to a quick start in the main event.
Following a four-point jam by CRG’s Sadistic Sadie, fellow jammer K. Lethal followed with a 13-point jam. The baker’s dozen gave CRG a 17-4 lead three minutes into the bout.
Plenty of physicality was found early in the bout - so much so that Black Sheep jammer Hannah Ouchocinco wound up leaving the first half early with a broken finger and lacerations on her chin that required stitches.
During her absence, ARRG’s Enya Nightmare was able to get one point on the next jam for the ladies in pink and black to cut the gap to twelve.
And then ARRG’s offense was shut down…….hard.
The Black Sheep would go on a 21-0 roll. Jams by Sadie, Lethal and Nuk’Em would extend CRG’s lead to 38-5 thirteen minutes into the bout.
The hard-hitting tenacity would continue as the half progressed - and then a wounded Black Sheep returned…with a vengeance.
And when CRG’s Hannah Ouchocinco donned the star on the helmet, she got three “last laughs” in the rest of the half. Two 14-pointers and an eight-pointer to end the frame resulted in a 90-17 Black Sheep lead at intermission.
ARRG would be much more competitive offensively in the second half, a re-occurring trademark of this year’s team. The ladies in pink would outscore the Black Sheep 51-49 in the second half, thanks to triple-grand slams by Nightmare and Black Market Baby.
But in the end, the local’s deficit would be too much to come back against, especially due to Lethal’s 23 second half points for CRG.
This inevitably resulted in the ARRG All-Stars’ third consecutive loss in WFTDA-sanctioned action, and third lopsided defeat in a row.
Yet as strange as this may sound, this was probably ARRG’s most aggressive and passionate bout of the season thus far. And 68 points against the sixteenth-ranked Sheep is not shabby, considering the absence of jammer South City Shiner to the match-up.
The Black Sheep, now 4-1 thanks to their fourth consecutive WFDTA win, were paced by K. Lethal’s 49 points. Hannah Ouchocinco added a hard-fought 43 points.
ARRG, who drops to 1-3 on the season, was led in scoring by Black Market Baby’s 20 points. Enya Nightmare added 16.
Blocker Smarty McFly picked up the team MVP - as presented by CRG - for the ARRG All-Stars, who return to WFTDA-sanctioned action on Saturday, May 1 as they travel to Nashville to battle the Music City All-Stars.
ARRG ST. LUNACHIX 89 CRG SILENT LAMBS 39
In the evening’s opener - The St. Lunachix- ARRG’s developmental team - utilized a pair of uncontested 20-point runs to defeat CRG’s Silent Lambs 89-39.
The win marked the first of the season for the Chix - who improved to 1-1.
After falling behind 3-1 early in the first half, the St. Lunachix went on a 26-point uncontested run three minutes into the frame. Following a five-point grand slam by The Siege, Chix newcomer Mighty Mighty Boston followed with an eight-pointer to give the visitors a 14-3 lead.
Another newcomer - Whip Scream - followed with a powerful 13-point jam to extend the lead to 27-3 with 11:30 left in the first half.
The dominance continued as the half continued. A four-point jam by Shillelagh Spillblood was then followed by another Siege grand slam and a four-pointer by Boston, which upped the score to 40-12 St. Lunachix with 5:15 left.
Following a seven-point jam by the Silent Lambs’ Wheezy- which cut the gap to 40-19 - St. Lunachix jammer Joanie Rollmoan scored a three-pointer to round out the first half scoring, which saw the representatives from St. Louis up 43-19 at the intermission.
Not to rest on their laurels, the St. Lunachix came out strong in the second half as The Siege scored 11 right out of the gate to up the score to 54-19.
As the bout progressed, the Chix’s rotation of blockers, which included Miss Lippy, Deathica Steele, Sue She, Jezebelle and a host of others, kept CRG scoring to a minimum.
This enabled the St. Louis contingent to go on a 23-0 scoring blitz late in the bout, punctuated by Boston’s eight-pointer with 2:30 remaining.
In the end, the 50-point victory was arguably one of the most impressive showings in the young franchise’s history.
The Siege paced the Lunachix in scoring with 29 points, while Mighty Mighty Boston added 20.
Jezebelle was presented the MVP award for The St. Lunachix, who return to action on Saturday, May 15 to battle the Rockford Rage at the Indoor Sports Arena in Rockford, IL.
INJURY UPDATE: SURI O’ KILLER
Many of you in ARRG Nation have been inquiring about the status of M-80s blocker Suri O’ Killer, who went down in April 10th’s ARRG interleague bout with a knee injury. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the incident: scroll down in the news section to the “In Poobah’s Corner: Is It Real?” column.)
Suri contacted us here in the newscenter this weekend to update us on her current status and future…
The doctors have diagnosed her with a torn ACL, which will require surgery in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, this means that the season is over for her. And the early prognosis is that she will not be allowed back on skates until October.
Suri wanted me to pass along a personal message to ARRG Nation:
“I want to thank my entire league and the fans for their concern and well wishes. This is just a small set-back, I’ll be back on the track in 2011 (with my zombie knee) hitting harder than ever. I love this sport and the community that supports it. Until then, get used to seeing my face at every ARRG event. You just can’t keep a derby girl down for long!”
Indeed, Suri! No doubt we’ll see her bounce back as time progresses and we look forward to seeing her at the M80s/Smashinistas match-up on Saturday, May 8 at the All-American Sports Mall.
The Grand Poobah and Hells LaBelle are bout announcers for the 2010 season of the Arch Rival Rollergirls. Check back in this section Mondays for the latest in ARRG news, information…and jerseys.
“… as well as numerous other potential All-Stars out of the line-up due to the St. Lunachix match-up.”
I’m not sure what exactly you mean here. We had the alternates from the All-Star roster play with the Lunachix, but this in no way kept anyone out of the line up. The All-Stars still had their full roster. Just sayin…
My apologies Miss Lippy. Column edited. My misfire must have been the result of patronizing league sponsor Pabst Blue Ribbon.
No need to apologize, I just didn’t want to mis-inform the public about that. Maybe next time you should write your re-cap BEFORE you drink all the pbr!