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The Bakersfield Rollergirls overcame a staggering set of obstacles to extend a three-bout winning streak with a dramatic last-second win against a very evenly matched Ventura County Derby Darlins team Saturday, Aug. 16 at Freedom Park Rink in Camarillo.
  
The 76 to 74 victory was Bakersfield’s second road win of season, bringing the Rollergirls to a respectable 3-3 in only their second full season of competition.
  
But it didn’t come easy.
 
In an omen of the chaos to come, Bakersfield veteran Sticki Vicki broke a bolt in her left skate during warm ups on the outdoor concrete track. Vicki’s day was saved by a quick trip to a nearby hardware store, but Wicked Nyx wasn’t as lucky. She went down hard in the sixth jam of the first period and left the rink for the emergency room with a painful fractured shoulder.
 
Nearly every Rollergirl spent time in the box amid a blizzard of penalties that plagued the entire bout and peaked with the ejection of Bakersfield defensive leader Dred Blocker and, a few jams later, offensive star Tonka Toy.
  
The Bakersfield faithful, which nearly equaled Ventura County’s home crowd, wasn’t shy about letting the 14-member referee crew know that the Rollergirls seemed to be getting a disproportionate number of penalties and questionable calls.
   
The bout started well for Bakersfield.
 
 Tonka Toy grabbed the early momentum with a 5-0 opening jam, but the Darlins — led by heads-up play from Lucy-Fur Hardball — were back in front 9-8 by the fifth jam. A series of standout jams by Sticki Vicki, Tonka Toy and Miss Taken pulled the Rollergirls back in front briefly, but the Bakersfield was trailing 33-20 late in the first 30-minute period.
 
 “We’re 13 points down ladies,” a fired-up Tonka Toy yelled to her fellow Rollergirls during a timeout. “What are we going to do about it?”
 
 Tonka answered her own question three jams later when she cruised by Dita De Los Muertos cooling her wheels in the Ventura penalty box. Without a jammer, Ventura could only watch as Tonka quickly won lead jammer and racked up 10 points to take the Rollergirls into halftime tied at 33 all.
 
But, perhaps inspired by the raucous death metal group that performed at halftime, the Darlins came storming back in the second period. Ventura’s Hitman Heidi retook the lead with a four point opening jam only to see Dred Blocker tie things up a jam later at 37 all.
 
Even the Ventura announcer was dismayed as Bakersfield matched Ventura point for point — Tonka and Ventura’s Foxx 4s ended the 13th jam tied at 41; and Miss Taken, who skated her best bout of the season, stuck with Hitman Heidi to leave the next jam tied at 43 all.
 
But with Bakersfield’s jammers repeatedly stuck in the penalty box, the Darlins began to pull away over the next three jams, led by the excellent skating of Ventura’s Dita De Los Muertos, Hitman Heidi and Foxx 4s.
 
Still, solid jams by Bakersfield’s Spider Cricket and Tonka Toy had closed the Rollergirls to within 3 points when the referees announced that Dred Blocker was being ejected for amassing too many penalties. A vocal and visibly upset Dred was forced to take a seat among the Bakersfield crowd. And she was joined only four jams later by Tonka, who was equally perplexed by her ejection.
  
Bakersfield, with their fans howling, didn’t give up.
 
In a punishing two-minute 32nd jam, Miss Taken grabbed the lead back from Ventura’s Hitman Heidi, putting the Rollergirls ahead 73-70 with just over four minutes to play. On the next jam, the Darlins recaptured the lead, making the score 73 to 74 with under two minutes to play.
 
The Rollergirls’ blockers came up huge on the next jam, allowing Miss Taken to quickly win lead jammer and seize the lead, 76 to 74.
 
 With only 32 seconds left in the bout, Sticki Vicki took over as Bakersfield’s jammer, and right off the line, pounced on Ventura’s jammer. The Rollergirl defense held strong in the critical final seconds and ran out the clock to deliver the team’s third consecutive win.

Bakersfield next sees action against the Silicon Valley Rollergirls at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at Rollerama, 1004 34th Street. At least one of the Rollergirls will shave her head for charity! For tickets or more information, visit bakersfieldrollergirls.com.