Scare Force 1 skated out to "All We Do is Win" for the last time tonight, as the Cherry Blossom Bombshells were the first team in three seasons able to defeat them. The final score of the bout was 171-189 in favor of the girls in pink.
In the first bout of Saturday night's DC Roller Girls home team double header, the Demon Cats also let an opportunity slip, losing to the Majority Whips, 205-207. These results confirm that the championship bout will be SF1 versus CBB on May 18th.
Early on, SF1 seemd to be in control. The Bombshells tried the pivot line and the jammer line for a starting position, but only recorded 5 lead jams in the first half, to more than 15 for SF1. A pair of amazing power jams by Marrion Barrycuda and Sharp Shredder helped set a half time score of 105-79 in favor of the undefeated "evil empire."
With 18 minutes to go, the 'Shells had narrowed the lead to just 2 points, taking full advantage of a 2-on-2 situation in the pack. In fact, they were frequently playing at a numbers disadvantage, but did an excellent job of getting lead jam regularly and jamming defensively when not lead. Several times, SF1 were forced to call either with no points or even having conceded a point or two.
The first lead to the Bombshells came with 13 minutes left in the 2nd half, on the back of a Yankee Scandal 15-point power jam. A double digit performance by Hook N' SlasHer added a bit of leeway to their lead, but the Bombshells were far from safe.
With only 8 minutes left on the clock, Sharp Shredder recorded a 25-point power jam to put SF1 back in the lead, but not even four minutes later Yankee Scandal took that back with a 20-point response.
Jaminy Cricket seemed to have secured the win by taking lead jam status with only a minute left on the clock. However, she followed the normal "hit & quit" strategy and called off the jam with 20 seconds left on the clock, leaving SF1 the opportunity to call a timeout and force one more jam.
"Last time I looked up, there were like 3 minutes left," she admitted after the bout. In her first real season with DCRG, it looked like a rookie error may cost her team the win.
However, history was definitely on the side of the all-star jammer, as the 'Shells took lead on the next jam and called it off after the period clock had expired.
It was a brilliant finish to an already amazing night; the DC Demon Cats had battled back from a 33-point deficit at half time to gain the lead not once, but twice, before finally conceding the bout to the Majority Whips.
Both teams struggled to keep the pack speed low on power jams, and special mention must be given to Nina Ninja and Dual Hitizen for bringing the fireworks in the opener.
With their win, not only did the Bombshells end the "reign of terror" of Scare Force 1, but they also cemented a rematch in May, when the two meet to contest the DCRG championship.
Of course that bout will be covered, as will the home team bout on March 30th.* To ensure you get updates of DCRG bouts, as well as others in the region, click on the Subscribe link above.
*Date corrected.
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