By Megan Enemies

There wasn’t a bad seat in the house when the Naptown Roller Girls took on the Hard Knox Roller Girls, of Knoxville, Tenn., on April 21.

The bout started neck-and-neck, the first period ending with Naptown’s Tornado Sirens edging by Knoxville, 27-26. It ended with a thrilling sudden-death overtime: two minutes to win a tie game, even though the score on the board showed the Tornado Sirens beating their opponents, 91-88. And in between that invigorating first period and nail-biter of an overtime, it was the hardest-hitting action so far this season.

Lilly Whip, pivot and blocker for Naptown, knocked down opponents 24 times in 27 jams. Aside from the time she spent in the penalty box, she sat out only eight out of 35 jams.

Naptown’s Touretta Lynn had six jammer and six blocker take-outs, along with five assists. Midway through the second period, Touretta took an unscheduled trip to the locker room to tend to a bloody nose after she got tangled up with Knoxville’s Black N Blue and had her face slammed into the floor in front of Naptown’s bench. That incident erupted into a game-stopping fracas. In the most contentious call of the season, head referee Roller Dex ejected Naptown coach Mr. Whip, who then threw a chair onto the track. Visiting referee Gaygsta came from the middle of the track and jumped on the coach while stunned onlookers tried to figure out what was happening. Hard Knox referee Alechya 4 Breakfast, mouthing a profane directive, waved her middle finger at Mizz Understood, Naptown’s team captain.

In Mr. Whip’s absence, injured Naptown Roller Girl Strawberry Jam left the comfort of her wheelchair to fill in as coach, balancing on crutches on the sidelines.

In the jam following the fight, Naptown’s Blazin’ Ace fired up the crowd by shutting out Knoxville, 7-0. Teammate J Roller followed that by outscoring Hard Knox’s Boom Shockalocka, 6-0.

Naptown’s Diane Beatin’, Sweet C and Mizz Understood each had six blocker take-outs, and in her debut as a Tornado Siren, Cleo Poundya took out two opposing blockers for Naptown.

With 8:40 to go in the bout, the game was too close for comfort: 75-73, Naptown. But Blazin’ Ace increased the lead by nine points in the next jam. Jane Ire and J Roller followed that with two points and five points, making the final score 91-88.

But minutes after the fans had begun celebrating the victory _¢Ç«®” some heading out for the after-party _¢Ç«®” NRG’s Tornado Sirens got a nasty surprise: it was now a tie game.

Jamie Skull, jammer for the Hard Knox Roller Girls, had scored three points against Naptown after the game clock ran out. Due to a recent rule change, she was still eligible to earn points, because there was time left on the jam clock when the game ended.

The fans booed in disbelief and crowded around the track as the overtime began. All passes would count for the jammers, and the jam would last two minutes.

Touretta Lynn knocked Jamie Skull under the announcer’s table as Blazin’ Ace sliced through the pack with ease, scoring nine points to Jamie Skull’s four points. Naptown won, 100-95.

Be sure to catch the Tornado Sirens in their final home game of the season May 12, when they take on the Derby City Roller Girls of Louisville, KY.