DERBY GIRLS: SUDDEN DEATH AS SCRIMMAGE
by JENNIFER PHILION, (LADY SHATTERLY, SCDG)
They called it a "scrimmage," but it was really a game---in fact, it was a playoff game. The Bomber Babes and the Sisters Of No Mercy duked it out to see which one would skate against the undefeated Death Dealers in the Championships.
Roller Derby has grown so much in Utah that a championship playoff is necessary to see which team is the current best. It's grown so much that a new league is starting in Davis County.
Games, or bouts, are usually held at the Olympic Oval in Kearns. But the Oval wasn't available for this important match, so it was held at the Taylorsville Recreation Center, which has one of the few non-ice skating rinks left in Utah. The small stands were filled. Many spectators came inside the rink to watch from the "suicide zone," lining the boards at each end to get a close up view. Despite the site and scrimmage being decided only six days ago, with no publicity, there was a large crowd. Derby fans are growing.
For 30 minutes on Monday night, the Sisters of No Mercy gave the Bomber Babes all they could handle in a playoff scrimmage to determine which team would advance to the Salt City Derby Girls league championship bout.
Unfortunately for the Sisters, the scrimmage lasted 60 minutes.
Both teams had 1-1 records in the league’s regular season, and this playoff matchup promised to be an exciting contest between the Bombers’ high-scoring jammers and the Sisters’ bruising blockers. Both teams were shorthanded, as the Sisters took the track with 10 players to the Bombers’ nine.
The Sisters seized momentum at the start, holding the Bombers’ strongest jammers in check early in the first period with vicious blocks and solid teamwork within the pack.
The first crack in the Sisters’ armor appeared in the eighth jam of the game, with their jammer Kinky Killbasa in the penalty box as the Bombers sent powerhouse jammer N.O.S. to the line unopposed. N.O.S. blew through the pack repeatedly for a 10-point jam, giving the Bombers a 22-13 lead that grew to a 12-point advantage at the end of the first period.
The Sisters mounted another charge in the second period, once again dominating defensively and holding the Bombers to one point in the first six jams to take a 38-34 lead.
But once again, the Sisters’ mounting penalties did their damage, as Deadly Sage was sent to the box during a jam with N.O.S., who scored nine unanswered points to put her team back on top. Suddenly, the Bombers turned up the defensive pressure, steadily building a lead while holding the Sisters to one point in the last five jams.
The Bombers held a 53-39 lead heading into the third period, as the crowd anticipated another surge from the Sisters. But penalty after penalty sent blocker Toots Sweet and her teammates to the box as they desperately tried to slow jammers N.O.S., Honey DeLunatic and Squid.
With one or two Sisters in the penalty box for much of the period, their own jammers had a hard time breaking through the pack and scoring points. The Bombers, sensing victory, clamped down on defense as their jammers rolled the team into the title game.
Final score: Bomber Babes 87, Sisters of No Mercy 53.
The Bomber Babes will face the undefeated Death Dealers in the league’s championship bout on Saturday, Sept. 22. In other derby action, the SCDG all-star team, the Salt City Shakers, will host the Pike’s Peak Derby Dames of Colorado Springs on Saturday, Sept. 8. For more information, visit: slcderby.com.