Photo by Kelly Castro
If the sad tale of LeBron James in Cleveland has taught us nothing else, it’s that relying upon one player to lift the entire team to the heavens is great when it works and catastrophe when it doesn’t. This is not to suggest that Polly KneesYa, the Harbor Hellcat sidelined with an injury, is the LeBron James of Santa Cruz Derby, but anyone who saw her devastate SINtral Valley in the Hellcats’ last home bout could be forgiven for thinking so, and for fretting as the squad took on Santa Barbara’s Mission City Brawlin’ Betties.
The loss of Polly was not the only question mark surrounding the team. Despite a core of savvy veterans, the Hellcats have been in flux all season. Rookies Ida Blacksheep, Queen Litigious, and Septicemia have been pressed into service as jammers, and the Mission City bout served as both the debut of Swoop Dogg and the farewell of lioness Kiki Clash. Raven Von Kaos, no stranger to the hardwood, was back in action after a horrible knee injury, but would medical science finally redeem itself after the dark years of leeches and trephination by allowing Ms. Von Kaos to smack some ladies down with the skill and panache to which we have grown accustomed?
While the pre-bout nerves of the Santa Cruz faithful may have been, for reasons fulsomely detailed above, as jangly as a Rickenbacker 12-string, the Hellcats’ early showing in the newly minted Derby Girl Stadium was nothing if not reassuring. Through five jams and about seven minutes, Santa Cruz had not surrendered lead jammer and was pitching a shutout, 13-0. But then, the drought was on, and the doubt crept back in. Over 10 minutes would pass with the Hellcats stuck at 13, kept in check by the Betties’ Booty Ninja and her namesake asset. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara dug themselves out, gradually at first but then suddenly as Foxx 4s (pronounced “Force”) took advantage of jammer Queen Litigious and jailbird Pigeon cooling in the penalty box. This weird and wild jam left Mission City ten points richer and in possession of their first lead of the night, 24-13.
It is precisely at such a turning point that a young team panics and an experienced team gets down to business. With these half-and-half Hellcats, who knew what to expect? Both sides managed to acquit themselves, as a mix of new and seasoned skaters started the scoreboard rolling again. Captain Pippi Hardsocking’s four points and Queen Litigious’s three got Santa Cruz close, and then Angelina Rollie made her only jam of the night count when her six points vaulted the Hellcats ahead, 26-25. The last five minutes of the half left fans ravin’ about Raven, who collected 11 more on the way to fattening the advantage to 43-30.
Whatever hopes Mission City might have held of reversing the trend after halftime were dented immediately. Ida Blacksheep’s nine-pointer to kick off the second half was just one jewel in the newbie’s gaudy crown. She would go on to finish as the bout-wide high-scorer with 51, but her defensive accomplishments were nearly as impressive. Her play demonstrates real fearlessness about collisions, and it’s not hard to see why – she’s so hard to cut down, you would think that UCSC students were protesting all around her. Combine this with hard-hitting Pigeon and you’ve got a team whose solidity cannot be questioned. When faced with one last round of adversity in the form of a fierce Mission City rally that cut the lead from 31 to 12 with 12 minutes to go, Santa Cruz reeled off jams of four, ten, and nine points, spaying the last threat and coasting to a 101-77 triumph.
What lesson can learned from this, if not the one we initially contemplated? Is it that excellent teamwork trumps the standout individual? Or that losing one star is tolerable when you’ve got others to take her place? Perhaps. But a look upon the Mission City roster suggests otherwise: Vino Noir, PuffPuffPass, Bacon and Legs – aha! It was a debauched lifestyle, as well as the dietary advocacy for a meal that is both cannibalistic and non-kosher, that were the undoing of the Brawlin’ Betties. They proved no match for the clean living that has always been the hallmark of Santa Cruz.
Write-up by Brian James
Santa Cruz Derby Girls - THE Rollergirls of Santa Cruz
