Eugene Weekly : Sports : 8.18.11

 

Junior Gems Second in NW

The Reservoir Dolls’ Spunkee Bruizer lines up in front of Seattle’s Lilly Lightning while Roma Mafia prepares to speed away

The Emerald City Junior Gems’ Reservoir Dolls beat the Seattle Derby Brats and lost to the I-5 Rollergirls in the championship to take second place in the Aug. 6th tournament. The tournament, called “Young Women Behaving Badly,” was held at the Willamalane Sports Center and featured junior roller derby teams from throughout the Northwest.

The Reservoir Dolls made it to the championship behind a 140-134 victory over Seattle that came down to the final minutes. Seattle’s Lilly Lightning, who led all scorers with 57 points, proved that lightning never strikes the same spot twice. After going on a 30-0 tear early in the half, Lilly had an opportunity to win it for Seattle in the final minute but came up short. Roma Mafia turned in a spectacular performance for the Dolls scoring 55 points.

In the championship, the Reservoir Dolls were hurting for points and couldn’t stay out of the penalty box. I-5 jumped out to a 48-11 lead in this half bout. Spunkee Bruizer tried to get the Dolls back in it with a 20-0 scoring run, but I-5’s defense proved to be harder to get by than semis passing on the expressway. I-5 won 68-52. — James Warmels