Saturday February 25

In the second round the Dairyland Dolls faced a familiar foe in the Gotham Girls. Having lost to the visiting Dolls in the first flat track interleague bout East of the Mississippi back in August, the Gotham Girls had a score to settle. The first period started off with a pair of penalties called on Gotham jammers, leaving their team without a way to score. The Dairyland Dolls took advantage and ran out to an early lead behind the strong skating of Mouse and Jewels of Denile. The Gotham Girls learned a lot since the last time these teams met and came out with some fierce hitting by Surly Temple and Ginger Snap, but their intensity was matched by the likes of Lizzie Borden, Scabs and Peter Pannies, who gave Crackerjack a whip so hard she went airborne. At the end of the first period, the Dairyland Dolls doubled up the Gotham Girls, 54-27.

There was no letup in the second period, with both teams slamming bodies into each other and penalties called early and often. The Gotham Girls fought hard, but the Dairyland Dolls just kept coming. With the game under control, there was time to work on a little bit of strategy. Twice in the second period the Dolls passed the star, which is when the jammer passes her helmet cover to the pivot, who then becomes the jammer. This is something the Dairyland Dolls have not done before, but may need it in future bouts. Throughout the bout, it became clear the refs had trouble communicating with each other and the skates. There were far too many jams delayed trying to figure out who should sit in the penalty box.

Both teams seemed to wear down a bit in the third period, but still kept up the pressure. For some reason, the refs called a lot of penalties on jammers leading to some interesting strategies by both teams. With Rippin Kitten in the penalty box, the Gotham Girls tried to speed up the pack and the Dairyland Dolls refused to go with. Because the Gotham Girls were too far ahead of the pack they couldn't touch our jammer and she sailed through for four points. In another display of skill and athletic ability, Mouse rode around the corner on one skate to get around Emma Badapple and Donna Matrix. In the end, the Dairyland Dolls advanced to the quarterfinals with a 142-70 beating of the Gotham Girls.

Later tonight the Dairyland Dolls will battle the more experienced Tuscson Roller Derby team for a place in the Semifinals. Updates will follow.