Brooklyn Deliver KO Blow to Mayhem’s Repeat Hopes

By Thomas Gerbasi

The tradition of knockdown, drag ‘em out bouts between the Brooklyn Bombshells and Manhattan Mayhem continued at John Jay College in NYC on June 10. And while Brooklyn’s victory wasn’t decided at the final jam like so many of the bouts in Gotham’s greatest rivalry, everyone who competed in the Bombshells’ 155-142 win knew they had been in a fight by the time the final whistle sounded.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

That’s the way it ought to be when these two teams collide, and while last year’s meeting saw Manhattan emerge victorious and take the Golden Skate championship trophy, this year saw Brooklyn get a measure of revenge by sending the defending champs to their second consecutive defeat, dashing their hopes of a repeat.

But all’s fair in love and derby, and though Brooklyn took a little time to get warmed up, by the time BlueJ put up a 20-point effort in the sixth jam of the game, the Bombshells had a 22-13 lead, and they would never relinquish that advantage.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

Of course, it’s not as simple as that, as Manhattan stayed close throughout, with veterans J Rod and Em Dash combining for 91 points as Violet Knockout led a defensive effort that held scoring machine Miss Tea Maven to “just” 48 points.

Stepping up for the Bombshells jammers was all-star V-Diva, who delivered a game high 65 points in just seven jams. And while Manhattan was almost always within striking range for much of the bout, a 29-point burst from V-Diva early in the second half put Brooklyn up 104-64, and they never looked back as they kept their unbeaten 2017 record intact.

PHOTO DAVID DYTE

MANHATTAN vs. BROOKLYN STATS

                          1         2        F

Manhattan     64  78 142                                          

Brooklyn   71       84 155

Manhattan MVP – Em Dash

Brooklyn MVP – Papierschnitt

Leading Manhattan Scorers

J Rod – 49 points (10 jams)

Em Dash – 42 points (11 jams)

Kid Vicious – 30 points (9 jams)

Leading Manhattan Blockers

Violet Knockout – 24 jams (43)

Roxy Dallas – 24 jams (-17)

Bonita Apple Bomb – 22 jams (2)

Spork Chop – 22 jams (-12)

Leading Brooklyn Scorers

Vanessa V-Diva Sites – 65 points (7 jams)

Miss Tea Maven – 48 points (20 jams)

BlueJ – 41 points (5 jams)

Leading Brooklyn Blockers

Papierschnitt – 22 jams (-25)

D.A.R.Y.L. – 20 jams (32)

Lady Fingers – 16 jams (-18)

Manhattan Penalties

Minutes in Box: 42 Jammer Box Trips: 9

Brooklyn Penalties

Minutes in Box: 38 Jammer Box Trips: 2

Stats compiled via Rinxter