Salt Lake City, UT

by Danger (ismymiddlename)

Words like 'solid' and 'controlled' are familiar ones to describe the stature and playing styles of both teams entering the first placement game. B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls, from San Francisco, California, and Angel City Derby Girls, of Los Angeles, California, are also a familiar match, having met twice in the last few months. Their first game played against one another this season had a large point disparity in Bay Area's favor, but their last meeting at Golden Bowl worked out quite different with a far narrower 41-point difference, even though it was played on BAD's home turf. What this meant was that this game had the potential to tip in either direction - both teams with two wins and an assured trip to Championships in Nashville under their belt.

Bay Area took the win with a final score of, 228-93, reflecting the difference in the two teams' rankings (BAD at #2, and Angel City at #7), and the comparative size of their wins throughout the tournament.

The game began with Bay Area jammer Nock Nock hitting the front of the pack, and bowling over two Angel City blockers, Laci Knight and Jane Wilkins, but as she took herself over in the process, they had a chance to re-engage and contain her momentarily. Chica Go Lightning was no slouch escaping the pack, but with a confirmed lead already from Nock Nock, the first score on the board was a tightly called 4-0, BAD. Micki Krimmel quickly put up 4 points for Angel City in the next jam, as Angel City contained Bay Area jammer Lulu Lockjaw.

A highlight for Angel City fans from the first half included a jam in which Lulu Lockjaw’s lead jammer grab was cancelled out by a track cut pulled on her by Jane Wilkins, and Demanda Riot’s attempt at a track cut pull with a run-back on Chica was flatly denied by a bodily rebound off Soledad in the back of the pack. But LuLu came back to score, and Bay Area inched up 35-16.

LuLu was the least successful of the Bay Area All-Stars in making it through Angel City’s lines of defense. Another of their go-to jammers, Nock Nock, while repeatedly taking lead, was facing a greater than usual resistance, as well as some significant recycling - daunting for a jammer used to simply barreling through opposition.

Laci Knight’s penalties in particular started to mount in this first period, but it was, as were many of the games this tournament, a high-penalty game, with the penalties leaning heavily towards Angel City. Chica Go Lightning was by far Angel City’s most successful scorer, but it’s worth noting that with 44 points gathered throughout the game, she still underscored even the lowest scoring of Bay Area’s jamming quartet by 2 points. Missing jammer Cris Dobbins in this game, Angel City debuted jammer Stormy Heather at about five minutes before the half and featured her more heavily through the second to turn theirs into a 4-jammer rotation, to match Bay Area’s Nock Nock / Bricktator / Huck Sinn / Lulu Lockjaw rotation.

The rest of the game continued with quick-moving, strategic play, and heavy hits. Both teams were grimly determined, but took small moments to celebrate good hits and play. In the leadup to halftime, Micki Krimmel put points on the board for Angel City, but the score was tipped solidly in Bay Area’s favor, 107-56.

The second half became much more firmly Bay Area’s game. As they turned lead jammer holds into a 80:20 split between themselves and Angel City, even calling jams short to frequently end and then start on power jams as jammer penalties started to plague Angel City.

And then for 12 jams, Bay Area held Angel City scoreless through the second period.

A team timeout for each gave them both reset time, but Bay Area again began the inexorable point climb. During this slide, Angel City’s blocking powerhouse Krissy Krash fouled out of the game.

The score was at 212-89, with Bay Area holding the lead and 3 mins remaining on the game clock. At the penultimate jam, Micki was knocked out and recycled repeatedly, and LuLu Lockjaw started taking points, winding up with 16-0 at the end of the jam. Angel City took a team timeout with 1:15 remaining in the game, and assured themselves a break and a new jam, but then Bricktator claimed lead. Stormy Heather quickly passed the star to recent transfer and former Nashville Rollergirls star jammer Britches’N’Hose as she stalled at the back of the line. Bricktator joined the blocking for Bay Area, and heartily engaged the opposing jammer, burning time in the jam to end the game.The final score was an emphatic Bay Area win belied by strong defensive play on both sides, 228-93.

The two teams were essentially playing to defend their seeding and did so, with each team finishing the tournament in the place they were seeded with, Angel City at #2, and Bay Area at #1.

Final Score

(1) B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls 228
(2) Angel City Derby Girls 93