Mar 6, 2013 | Bout News

Rockits sync in flight, defeat Gardas 143-99

Fans of the Rockits don’t have it easy. The team is known for second-half comebacks and a sort of play that gets people wondering whether or not they’re going to make it to the finish line first.

This time, the Garda Belts nearly pulled off their first victory against the women in red for seven years. However, two jaw-dropping power jams by the unstoppable Commander Nix and Harmony Killerbruise and a failure by the Gardas to close the deal have sent the Rockits again into the final round.

Rockits v Garda Belts

The Garda Belts stole a page from their past by placing #91 – Suzie Smashbox, 7th-year Garda veteran – against the Rockits’ co-captain Commander Nix. Salvador Brawlie dumped Suzie to the ground as her opponent took lead, but Suzie jumped back and allowed Nix to score only one.

Second Hand Smoke delivered the Gardas’ first four points, followed by another scoring lap from Commander Nix in the following jam. Suzie stole three before Nix could call it. 8-5 (Gardas ahead) after four minutes.

The Gardas started to pull ahead as the Rockits began to play risky derby. After two jams by MEDUSA and Tara Bichapart (each scoring four), the Rockits had filled their penalty box to the point where offending blockers had to return to the track to wait their turn in the box. The Garda jammers took the advantage; Second Hand Smoke jammed against a light pack, pushed the two remaining Rockit blockers just past Turn One, then dipped into the inside lane for an easy lead jam. Another four points.

Tara Bichapart and Frigid O’Shaughnessy (called OSHA) put up a huge, unanswered 34-point gain for the Rockits as opposing jammer Scarmen Hellectra got sent to the box for two consecutive track cuts. With more Rockits in the box, both Tara and OSHA spun through the track like runaway tops. Crust Almighty followed up with another four points as Soft Serve and Wolfe Bite stomped on Commander Nix. 58-5, Gardas ahead.

With the Rockits at last cleaning up their penalty situation, Harmony took her first lead of the game with a quick four-point jam against Scootaloo. Suzie Smashbox returned fire for three points as Anita Spankston and the Garda pack held Commander Nix.

A shift began at the 14th minute in the Rockit pack – the Rockits slowly began building their shifting wall defense again. The effort wasn’t enough to keep Gardas from getting through – but Rockit jammers took each of the next four lead jams.

With three minutes remaining, Commander Nix came up big – her opponent (Smashbox) had begun to tire on the track as Rockits got in front of her. Nix spun up and started lapping. Suzie survived the onslaught without going to the box, but Nix took twelve on the jam. The Gardas’ Soft Serve went to the line and scored the final four points of the half as Nix got pinballed by Crust Almighty and Wolfe Bite.

HALFTIME: Garda Belts 67 – 25 Rockits

The Gardas began the second half with two players in the box. Harmony took advantage of the light defense and snagged nine unanswered points. Moto Fluzzi averted a near-disaster for the Gardas when she noticed no one was jamming in the second jam. With seconds to go, Moto grabbed a jammer cover and reported to the line. Commander Nix took two points, but the scoring could have been much worse. 67-36, Gardas ahead.

Suzie and Harmony went to the line next. Harmony had initial trouble with breaking through, but took the lead as Buzz Tightrear toyed with Suzie on the outside line. As Harmony came around, Buzz tricked Suzie into a track cut…and Harmony started accelerating. Harmony scored 30 points, whipping the crowd into a frenzy and bringing the Rockits within one.

Two scoreless jams later, Smoke took the next lead and scored four. Harmony was being handled behind a wall, but an impetuous Scootaloo knocked her to the ground. Harmony bounced up, threw herself through the Scoots-sized gap in the Garda wall, and forced Smoke to call off the jam. 71-66, Garda Belts up.

Commander Nix wound through the outside lane of Turn 2 for the lead while Vuedoo Prodigy knocked opposing jammer Smashbox through the inside of turn 4. Nix scored 20 on the power jam as the crowd erupted and the Gardas began to hemorrhage blockers to the box. LEAD CHANGE. Rockits up, 86-71.

Harmony took an easy lead in the following jam with only a Garda blocker on the track and scored four as Rhea Volt and Scarmen Hellectra teamed up on MEDUSA. Nix scored another lead as her blockers attacked Garda jammer Soft Serve. Serve didn’t have enough blockers to generate space to move, but she had the presence of mind to pass the jammer star to Second Hand Smoke. Smoke broke the pack and ended the jam before more damage could be done by Nix. 104-71 with seven minutes remaining.

The Gardas cleared up their penalty issues as the final minutes ticked down, but the Rockits took lead on each of the final jams. They worked the clock, allowing the Gardas to score and concentrating on getting their own jammer through. The Rockits took the win and will play the Atomic Bombshells for the Golden Skate on April 6th.

FINAL: Rockits 143 – 99 Garda Belts

GARDA BELTS — 99 Points
Lead Jams: 12
Power Jams: 2
Points from Power Jams: 29
Jam Wins: 11
Grand Slams: 8

Tara Bichapart — 3-6, 35 pts
Rita Rawkus — 0-1, 17 pts
Frigid O’Shaughnessy — 1-2, 14 pts
Second Hand Smoke — 4-7, 12 pts
Suzie Smashbox — 1-6, 9 pts
Medusa — 1-4, 4 pts
Soft Serve — 1-2, 4 pts
Crust Almighty — 1-1, 4 pts
Scootaloo — 0-1, 0 pts
Moto Fluzzi — 0-1, 0 pts

ROCKITS — 143 Points
Lead Jams: 18
Power Jams: 3
Points from Power Jams: 65
Jam Wins: 14
Grand Slams: 18

Commander Nix — 9-13, 67 pts
Harmony Killerbruise — 8-13, 64 pts
Vuedoo Prodigy — 1-2, 12 pts
Scarmen Hellectra — 0-2, 0 pts