Tucson, AZ

By Jilimanjaro

Game 11 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Tucson saw the Mad Rollin’ Dolls of Madison, Wisconsin pull off their second upset win of the weekend, this time coming back to defeat the Charm City Roller Girls of Baltimore, Maryland, after trailing at the half. In the first round of play Friday, Madison took a close win over #8 seed Arizona Roller Derby before falling to the top-seeded Victorian Roller Derby league later in the day.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

The game was fraught with jammer penalties on both sides, with Charm City ultimately having two skaters ejected. Madison was able to keep it relatively clean in the second half and milk Charm City’s jammer penalties for multiple scoring passes.

The first two jams of the bout saw Madison jammer Mack the Knife make three trips to the penalty box. This allowed Charm City’s Dottie Deathwish, Holly Gohardly, and Nikki Cash to put up an early lead of 37-0. But Madison’s Magic Missile answered with 15 points of her own as Dottie Deathwish made her first of seven trips to the box. Madison managed to nickel-and-dime their way to a lead change in jam 14, navigating around their own jammer penalties and exploiting four power jams. But heavy defense led by Cherrylicious and Colleen Best allowed Charm City to turn the tables on Madison while Holly Gohardly and Dottie Deathwish took the score up to 94-89 at the half in favor of Baltimore.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

Madison came out swinging in the second half with a 14-point jam by Lady Who-ha, taking back the lead and retaining it for the remainder of the game. Jammer penalties continued to be a problem for both sides but Madison’s relentless defense, led by Allie Gator and Shenaniguns, prevented Charm City from capitalizing.

The high scorers for Madison were Magic Missile with 78 and Mouse with 63. High scorers for Charm City were Holly Gohardly with 47 and Nikki Cash with 46.

Madison will go on to play Terminal City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for 5th place while Charm City will take on Team United Roller Derby of Des Moines, Iowa for 7th.

FINAL SCORE

Mad Rollin’ Dolls (#9) 239
Charm City Roller Girls (#5) 152