Jacksonville, FL

By Whacks Poetic

In the last game of the consolation bracket on Saturday, the Tampa Tantrums from Tampa, Florida, USA took on Steel Hurtin' from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Tampa came into the game higher seeded at #5 compared to Steel's #8 seed. The winner of this game would be playing for 5th Place Sunday afternoon. Tampa had already played and won against Glasgow in the morning and looked ready and eager to take on their opponents. Although Steel stayed within striking distance for the entire game, they were unable to take the win. Tampa moves on to the 5th place game with a 197-174 win.

Photo by Louis Keiner

The game started with an impressive 14-0 jam by Little A. The lead was short-lived, however, with Steel City putting up 8-0 and 9-0 jams immediately thereafter while Tampa dealt with some jammer penalty issues. The point differential remained in the single digits until another jam by Little A put the Tampa team ahead 41-29 with ten minutes gone in the game. This time Rock Hardy Candy from Steel City spent too much time in the box and another 14-0 jam for the Floridians, this time by Ana Cheng, increased the lead. Leanne Groll was a shining star for Steel City, earning lead status 5 of the 6 times she took the track in the first half. Unfortunately it was not enough to balance out ,the six jammer penalties for the Pennsylvanians and at the half, the score was 98-62.

Photo by Ryan Quick

The second half saw Tampa continue with what was working for them, a five-jammer rotation with Little A, Laryn Kill, Smooth Operator, Ana Cheng and PhDiesel while Steel adapted, building on what had been working for them in the first hald. They looked like a rejuvenated team, increasing the pack speed and starting the half with three 4-0 jams before PhD Diesel managed to break the trend. On her second pass, PhD Diesel committed a penalty and allowed Steel the opportunity to score unopposed. They brought the game back to single-digit score differential, 107-94 after 5 minutes. The half continued with fast packs, hard hits and increased in intensity and crowd reactions as more skaters hit the floor and time ticked off the clock. With just fifteen minutes to go and the score reading 140-115 in favor of Tampa, Leanne Groll picked up her third lead jammer of the half and put up multiple scoring passes against a weakened Tampa team with two of their blockers in the box for most of the jam. Tampa then went on a scoring run, outscoring the Pennsylvanians 38-3 before Steel finally won another jam 5-2 with 3 minutes left.

The final jam started with Tampa leading 189-146. Laryn Kill picked up lead for Tampa but then went to the box on her second pass. Snot Rocket Science skated laps around the diminished two pack and put up 28 points, closing the gap but not overcoming Tampa’s sizeable lead. The final score was 197-174.

"Our defensive won that game -that and our jammers. Tomorrow we're looking to do more of the same -locking it down and playing offense when possible and it makes sense,” said Alli-Kat Scratch, a Tampa skater.

Tampa will play Detroit Derby Girls tomorrow at 2pm for 5th place. Steel City will be playing for 7th place against the Charlottesville Derby Dames at noon.

FINAL SCORE

Tampa Roller Derby (#5) 197
Steel City Roller Derby (#8) 174