Saint Paul, MN

by Shelly Shankya

An early bleed of blockers to the penalty box set both teams on edge, as nerves were high during the opening minutes of Game 5 between London Rollergirls (#1 D1 Jacksonville, #3) and the Angel City Derby Girls (#2 D1 Jacksonville, #6) at the 2015 International WFTDA Championships in St. Paul, Minn. Angel City felt the brunt of the penalty box pain, losing three in the first jam. The second jam was just as penalty-heavy, and led to a 2-1 pack advantage for the London Brawling. While tensions and penalties remained high, London hoped for a repeat of the teams' earlier meeting in June 2015 when the Brawling dimmed the star of the Hollywood Starlets, winning 218-117.

Photo by Keith Bielat

London jumped to an early lead, gaining 9 from Lexi Lightspeed, 9 from Stefanie Mainey, and 15 from Trisha Smackanawa to put them in a 33-9 lead against Angel City. That's not to say the blockers from Angel City made the point passes simple for London; it was quite the contrary, in fact. Blockers Hunnie Brasco, Soledad, Booty Ninja, and Ima Blowbya trounced Trisha, opening the track for jammer Chica Go Lightning to score the team's 9 points in the third jam. After the Angel City blockers declared their presence on the track, the team went on a 20-0 tear in the following five jams as London jammers found no footing against the Starlets.

Angel City took its first lead with just over 12:00 left in the opening period, as Chica Go Lightning scored 20 points and Lexi Lightspeed sat in the penalty box for a forearm. And when Lexi came back on the track, Hunnie gave Lexi tough end of her blocking skill. With just over 10:00 to go, each team had accrued an equal 14 penalties: three jammer penalties for Angel City and two for London. Just Jess, Juke Boxx and Olivia Coupe kept their wits about them in the closing minutes of the first, and, with their help, Lexi made it through the pack to grab one point and the lead for the London Brawling, a lead that they held through until half. London led Angel City 72-58 as the skaters left the track to regroup.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

The London Brawling called an official review as the halftime whistle blew, requesting a penalty on Angel blocker Hunnie Brasco. The officials took the half to determine the penalty, and Hunnie sat the first :30 of the second period in the penalty box.

Penalties continued to plague both teams in the second and, as London jammers burned clock time to clear their blocker penalties, the shifting penalty box occupants made for constant change on the track. Lexi Lightspeed earned lead jammer in the fourth jam of the period, but she ended up with the fewer points: 8 to Ghetto Fabulez's 12, a score that brought Angel City within 7 points. When blocker-jammer Micki Kimmel donned the star in the sixth jam, she picked up lead with speed and proceeded to score 9 to Trisha Smackanawa's 0, and Angel City took the slight lead, 89-84. London blocker Juke Boxx refused to let the lead stand and cleared a path for jammer Rogue Runner to get lead in the preceding jam. And it was only moments later that London regained the lead, one that they refused to let go of throughout the game's remaining minutes.

Photo by Danforth Johnson

With just over 11:00 on the game clock, Rogue Runner made a statement, scoring 19 points, the game's second-largest point grab, to extend London's lead 128-108 as Ghetto Fabu-lez sat in the box on a back block call. The momentum shift happened at just the right moment, too, as Angel's blockers rotated in and out of the box. Both teams suffered a blocker loss to foul outs: London lost Jacksonville Playoffs MVP blocker Die Die with nearly 20:00 remaining, and the Starlets lost Soledad in the following jam. The blocker deficit affected Angel City most, as the game was narrowly swinging to London's favor. London managed to keep pace with their impressive point gain, and the team pulled off the win.

"We practice and simulate these situations at practice," Rogue Runner said. "We practice getting down on points and maintaining the lead. We do that to help us keep our heads in each of the games. We always look to the next 30 seconds, and while it gets tiring, it felt good to pick up the momentum in the end."

London advances to the semifinals and will play the winner of the Rose City and Bay Area at 6:30 on Saturday evening.

FINAL SCORE

London Rollergirls (Jacksonville #1) 158
Angel City Derby Girls (Omaha #2) 122