Omaha, NE

By Shelly Shankya

Establishing an early lead in Game 11 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs, No Coast Derby Girls (#10) dominated the Queen City Roller Girls (#9), delivering a tournament upset and securing Lincoln's chance to finish five places higher than their seeding.

Photo by Ryan Quick

Queen City rostered only 12 skaters in the penultimate game of Day 2, and the disadvantage hamstringed the team, especially as No Coast blockers consistently held Queen City jammers for extended periods of time. While the jammers from each team shared a nearly equal number of lead jammer statuses - 10 for Queen City and 11 for No Coast - the ladies from Lincoln used their strategic advantage to put up nine double-digit jams. The other side of the score sheet showed only four double-digit jams for Queen City in the first period. Two back-to-back penalties for Lincoln jammer Fancy looked to give Queen City a momentum shift, but continued penalty trouble from the Lake Effect Furies made jamming difficult. With a 3-2 pack advantage for No Coast, jammer Slam Anderson scored 10 points, followed by 17 from Flash Gloria, then 13 from Anna Maniac, and then another 21 from Slam Anderson. These 61 points were answered by 7 from Queen City.

Photo by Steve Jurkovic

The first period ended with both teams requesting an official review. No Coast requested and was denied a review of points not given to jammer Flash Gloria. Queen City, however, was successful in their challenge, and the officials called in their favor, putting a No Coast blocker in the penalty box for an out of bounds blocking penalty. Teams skated into half, No Coast in a convincing lead, 174-102 over Queen City.

The opening jams of the second period looked to make waves for the Lake Effect Furies: Librawlian managed a 23-point jam while No Coast jammer Anna Maniac sat in the box for a track cut. A strategic mistake by Queen City in a following jam - fielding only three blockers - set No Coast on an 84-5 run that all but solidified their lead and their advancement to the fifth place game on Sunday. Blocker Brick Hithouse for Queen City fouled out with 19:45 left in the game, and penalties continued to be a problem for Queen City. No Coast, on the other hand, skated relatively cleanly.

No Coast moves on to play for fifth against Boston Derby Dames (#6) on Sunday at 2 p.m. CDT Queen City will play Helsinki Roller Derby (#7) for seventh on Sunday at noon.

FINAL SCORE

No Coast Derby Girls (#10) 329
Queen City Roller Girls (#9) 186