B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls (#3) secure ticket to Championships after defeating Rose City Rollers (#1)

By Shelly Shankya

For the last ticket to WFTDA Championships, Grits and Glory, Rose City Rollers (#1) and tournament hosts B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls (#3) duked it out in one of the most anticipated bouts of the day. The first half was a tale of lead jammers. Rose took lead jammer the majority of the 24 jams in the first, and the two teams nickeled and dimed each other for the points that they accrued.

The teams jockeyed for lead throughout the first several jams but, after Bay Area took a time out at the twelfth jam, Rose was able to regroup and rally a serious lead against Bay Area. The team's two penalty kills didn't help Bay Area either. Rose City took advantage of the hiccups from Bay Area to set themselves apart until the last jam of the first period, when Bay Area's Ivy Profane took 15 points from Rose City when Scald Eagle got stuck in the back of Bay Area's blockers, ending the half at 60-57 Rose.

Bay Area used their rally at the end of the first period to push ahead of the Wheels of Justice in the opening jams of the second. They scored a lead change, but the Rose City Rollers took it back a few jams later, only to have Bay Area score big with Ivy Profane's 19-point jam against White Flight in the seventh jam. From that point, Bay Area held onto and strengthened their lead against the region's #1 team, Rose City Rollers.

Rose saw their chance for a win as Bay Area's Lulu Lockjaw went to the box with a major as Sulfearic Acid went in to score for Rose. Her power jam and Lulu's inability to break the pack dropped the gap to just 12 points. The clock was not on Rose City's side, however, and as Bay Area's Knock Knock watch the clock tick down the last seconds of the game, she called off the game securing the win and a trip to Championships for the ladies in gold.

B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls maintain their third spot in the Western Region and will head to the WFTDA Championship in November. Rose City Rollers finish fourth in the tournament after entering as the #1 seed.

Bay Area Derby Girls (#3) 135 - 3rd Place
Rose City Rollers (#1) 123 4th Place