Jacksonville, FL

By Lexistential Crisis

Detroit Derby Girls (Seed 6) of Detroit, Michigan, USA went into Game 10 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Jacksonville with a 1-1 tournament record after a loss to Jacksonville RollerGirls Friday and a win over Pikes Peak in the morning. Charlottesville Derby Dames (Seed 10) of Charlottesville, Virginia, USA had the same record after upsetting 7 Seed Glasgow Roller Derby and losing to Denver Roller Derby on Friday.

Photo by Louis Keiner

Like their earlier game against Pikes Peak, Detroit led the entire first half with differentials ranging from seven to 36 points. Both teams played clean until the 8th jam, when a Charlottesville blocker went to the box. In that time Detroit slowly built up to a lead of 34-4 and earned lead jammer status in all but one of those eight jams. In the following jam Detroit expanded their lead to the largest of the half with a score of 40-4. Miller-Miller and Forty Ounce Bounce were the only two Charlottesville blockers on the track in the next jam, but they worked together to hold Detroit’s jammer back on her initial pass while Spank Puncherella and Miller-Miller scored 10 points.

Charlottesville built on this momentum in the following jams. With 15 minutes left in the half, Detroit’s jammer went to the box for the first jammer penalty of the game. River Styx Phoenix passed the star to The Big Bangarang and together they scored 12 points. Miller-Miller added 15 points and Machete added three more points in the following two jams to bring the score to 52-44. Detroit’s lead was cut down to only eight with 10 minutes left in the half. Detroit maintained a narrow lead in those 10 minutes, and went into halftime with a lead of 72-60.

Photo by Louis Keiner

Detroit’s defense prevented Charlottesville from scoring again until the 5th jam of the half. Detroit’s jammer Helen Killer started the jam in the penalty box after receiving a back block penalty at the end of the previous jam. Machete fought through the Detroit wall to earn lead jammer status and score 13 points. Helen Killer committed another back block penalty when she returned to the track, and Spank Puncherella added five more points for Charlottesville in the next jam. This brought the score to 81-78. In the next jam Charlottesville briefly took the lead for the only time in the game. After Miller-Miller’s first scoring pass their score was 83 over Detroit’s 81. Detroit quickly took the lead back after Miller-Miller committed Charlottesville’s first jammer penalty of the game. Detroit scored nine points to Charlottesville’s eight and once again held the lead with a score of 89-87. Charlottesville kept the score close for the next two jams until Machete received an illegal procedure penalty for a star pass violation. This gave Detroit an opportunity to expand their lead to 28 points.

The score was 134-101 for Detroit with 15 minutes left in the game. Charlottesville wasn’t able to get closer than 14 points in those final 15 minutes, but they didn’t allow Detroit to expand their lead either. Both teams traded points to score 59 points each, and both teams gave up two power jam opportunities. Detroit ended the game with a score of 193-160, a differential of 33 points. Feta Sleeze again scored the majority of Detroit’s points with 117 points. Charlottesville’s jammers spread out the scoring a little more, as both Miller-Miller and Machete scored 49 points. All skaters stayed on the track for most of the game. Detroit only committed a total of 16 penalties, but half of them were jammer penalties. Charlottesville’s jammers only committed four penalties, all in the second half, but the entire team earned 27 penalties.

Detroit will play for 5th Place against either Tampa Roller Derby or Steel City Roller Derby Sunday at 2 pm Eastern. Charlottesville has increased their standing from their 10 Seed and will play for 7th Place tomorrow at noon.

FINAL SCORE

Detroit Derby Girls (#6) 193
Charlottesville Derby Dames (#10) 160