Philly cracks Madison, 213-53

When the first four jams of a bout go 34-0, there’s a strong suspicion that the bout may end up a little one-sided.  Such was the case of Philly’s Liberty Belles match against the Dairyland Dolls of Madison, WI.  Philly shut down the flexible pack of Madison, and began to asserted themselves on the track.
Madison got a five-point reprieve as Jewels of Denile took a lead and a grand slam against Elle Viento’s rapid pace, but Philly simply had the goods.  Where Charm City made small corrections to the MNRG pack that sent players to the box, the Belles simply planted and hit…sending Madison sprawling.
Philly played an extremely clean jamming game in the first half and did not get slapped with a single jammer trip to the penalty box.  Madison was not so lucky as rebounded through a rapidly-recycling Philly pack.  The Belles didn’t need the extra points from their numerous power jams, but they nonetheless piled on the pain.  At fifteen minutes, Philly was up 62-9; by the end of the half, the lead had been extended to 118-13.
The key to this half was clearly the dominant Philly defense.  Whether Heavy Flo creating space in the front or one of the Belles’ numerous jammers playing rapid-play blockers, Madison simply could not cope with the threat from Philadelphia as halftime was reached.
Philadelphia’s deep roster of jammers took center stage in the second half, breaking through Madison packs with little to no impediment.  Lead jams fell into their laps as the Belles’ Castro, Flo, and Teflon Donna tore the pack apart front and back for their scoring arsenal.
As in the first half, power jams didn’t hurt; six minutes into the second half, Madison’s Vicious Van-Go-Go went to the box for a track cut, giving Mo Pain a chance to drop twenty points as she darted through Madison’s defense. Philly 157 – Madison 16.
Ginger Vitis took another twenty-four on another power jam as Vicious returned to the box ten minutes later.  Madison had found moments to score, but only single runs. With eight minutes remaining, Philly was ahead 206-24.
A late run by Jewels of Denile in a power jam off of Ginger Vitis gave the retiring Madison jammer a last, phenomenal seventeen-point jam. However, Philly handily took the game as the final whistle blew. 213-53.
Philly now will play the Kansas City Roller Warriors Saturday afternoon at 1pm CDT.

(For archival purposes: original article first appeared on Uproar on the Lakeshore website.)