Dallas, TX

By Shelly Shankya

With the kinds of hits that make the crowd gasp, Dallas Derby Devils (#6) battled against the Sun State Roller Girls of Brisbane, Australia (#7) in Game 11 on Saturday evening, each team hoping to clinch a spot in the fifth place game on Sunday. The tournament hosts had training sessions in the previous season with the Victorian Roller Derby League of Melbourne, Australia (WFTDA, #3), and they used what they learned from the women of Melbourne, to take the win from the Sun State skaters in a closely contested nail-biter.

Photo by Donalee Eiri

The vocal crowd made their disagreement with calls and non-calls known during the opening jams as Sun State kept the Army of Darkness scoreless for the first six jams, scoring a total of 21 points before a star pass to Mona Bruiser of Dallas put the hosts on the board with 12 points during a no-lead jam. Those first points took 8 minutes. After the points, Sun State dealt Dallas another blow with an official review on a non-called insubordination on jammer Mona Bruiser, and the review resulted in Mona sitting for an additional 30 seconds on an initial track cut forced by Sun State blocker Polly Cracker.

At one point in the first period Sun State extended the lead to 60 points, leading Dallas 84-44 with just over 10:00 on the period clock. Jammer Miley Virus pinballed through the Sun State blockers Rose Ruin, Polly Cracker, Dominazn, and Coco Nuts, but she managed to gain 9 points, immediately after Dallas jammer Anita Riot scored 17 points. Breaking the hearts of the crowd and the Army, Sun State shut down the momentum shutting out Dallas for the following four jams. With the pause of an official review requested by Sun State, Dallas regrouped and refocused to gain traction on the track. Captain Gillotine Grace donned the star for a 13-point jam, and she was all smiles as she lapped the Sun State jammer Beth Adder. With Gillotine’s repeated appearance and continued work from Dallas, the Army brought game back within their grasp, closing the period with only 31 points between their Australian rivals, 107-76.

“We had to take a breather, center ourselves, and find our game,” Dallas jammer Anita Riot said. “We had to remind ourselves to play our game, not theirs.”

Photo by Jennifer M. Ramos

Find their center, they did. Within the first five jams of the second period, Dallas scored 46 points to overcome Sun State's narrow margin at the half. The blocking prowess of both teams was on display as jammers were stalled at nearly stand-still pack pace. At one point during the seventh jam, Dallas used a momentary pause in a push from Sun State jammer Trauma Junkie to communicate and reset, a call and transition from Dallas blocker The Little Murdermaid. And while Trauma scored enough to take back the lead from Dallas, the momentary reset was enough to give Dallas the mental shift they needed.

An eye-opening and game-changing jammer ejection for an egregious back block, the loss of Sun State jammer Jambi left the Australian team shocked, and the lead changed once again, this time for good. Dallas jammer Postal Penny scored 15 points (despite a jammer penalty) in the ninth jam, signaling a shift in track tension, both for the skaters on the track and the fans in the stand. Sun State elected to demonstrate their depth of bench by fielding new jammers Dominazn and SX, skaters who had previously worked as blockers. While their efforts were valiant, the re-centered, re-focused Dallas skaters had mentally found their win. With less than 2:00 on the period clock, Dallas veteran jammer Anita Riot stepped up to the line against captain Rose Ruin, and as Anita rocketed through the pack for lead, the crowd erupted, shouting “Ni-ta! Ri-ot!” until the period clock read 0:00.

“Hearing the crowd scream…it felt amazing, just like it was a home game,” Anita Riot said. “We’re gunning for tomorrow’s game, and we’re looking forward to setting the tone for next season.”

Dallas Derby Devils (#6) advance to play Crime City Rollers (#8) for fifth place at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. Sun State Roller Girls (#7) will play Stockholm Roller Derby (#5) for seventh place on Sunday at noon.

FINAL SCORE

Sun State Roller Girls (#7) 151
Dallas Derby Devils (#6) 187