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Windy City Rollers Mon May 06 2013
Fury, Manic Attackers to Skate For Ivy King Cup
This year's Ivy King Cup championship bout might seem a bit familiar.
In a rematch of last year's IKC championship, Windy City Rollers home teams the Manic Attackers and The Fury will compete for the cup on June 8 after winning their bouts on Saturday.
The Manic Attackers won the 2012 Ivy King Cup with a 133-113 victory over The Fury.
The Fury, who finished the home season 3-0, earned their spot in the championship bout with a win over the Double Crossers, who finished 0-3. But the Double Crossers, who were beaten by The Fury 227-112 on April 20, didn't make it easy.
The Double Crossers jumped out to an 8-3 lead after the first jam. But hard blocking by The Fury and quick scoring passes by Billie Mean King and Jackie Daniels put The Fury up 9-8 after the third.
The Double Crossers seemed to pick up steam as the first half went on and with 10 minutes to go before the break, they found themselves up by 24, 75-51. That lead didn't last long, as Fury jammer Ska Face put her team back on top 80-78 after the 17th jam of the half.
But two jams later, Fury jammer Billie Mean King went to the penalty box, leaving the Double Crossers' Killa Nois as the only jammer on the track. Killa Nois took advantage of the power jam and put the Double Crossers up 86-80 with one jam to go.
Though she started the final jam in the penalty box, Billie Mean King was able to get lead jammer when she returned to the track. But she was sent back to the box after scoring only four points, allowing the Double Crossers to take an 86-84 lead into halftime.
The second half started with yet another lead change. Billie Mean King again found herself in the penalty box at the start of the second half. But hard blocking by The Fury kept Killa Nois from getting through the pack and allowed Billie Mean King to take lead jammer when she was released. She made several quick scoring passes and The Fury were again on top, 102-88.
In the end, the Double Crossers ran out of steam and The Fury won 189-153.
Double Crossers captain Sunshine N Painbows said after the bout that her team learned a lot after the big loss to The Fury a couple weeks ago.
"Every jam, there was trust," she said. "Everybody came to play. They played a full 60 minutes."
Fury captain Ska Face said Saturday's bout showed that The Fury still have things to work on before the championship round. One major issue, she said, is keeping jammers out of the penalty box.
"That's definitely a necessity," she said.
The Manic Attackers earned the chance to defend their title with a 227-122 win over the Hell's Belles.
The Belles drew first blood, as Zombea Arthur took the first lead jammer status of the game and put the Belles on top 19-0. But big jams from Wreck N Shrew and Ying O'Fire gave the Manics a 71-25 lead with 17:43 left in the first half.
Though the Belles kept chipping away at the lead, they couldn't keep Manic Attackers jammers from scoring and the Manics had a 97-70 lead at the half.
The Belles never took the lead back, but kept within striking distance until the 21st jam. With 6:30 left in the game, the Manics were on top 154-119 and Ying O'Fire stepped back to the jammer line. By the end of the 21st jam, she'd scored 29 points, giving the Manics a 183-119 lead. The Manics were only able to score three more before time ran out, giving the Manics a 227-122 win.
Ying O'Fire said after the bout that she's confident the Manics can hold onto their title.
"We have the skills. We just have to believe in that," she said. "We're the same team as we were last year. I really feel like it's our game to lose."
