ROLLER DERBY: REF HELPS BOMBERS WIN
by JEN PHILION (AKA: LADY SHATTERLY)
(Editor's note: in her article, Lady Shatterly was careful to write an objective and impartial report, making no comment on the game-deciding mistake by the referee. However, such a mistake leaves a ref open to accusations of bias or ignorance, and it is hoped that SLDG league officials helps educate this ref so it never happens again.)
The Bomber Babes took a big step toward defending their 2007 Salt City Derby Girls league championship on Saturday night, topping the Death Dealers 105-89 in a hard-fought battle to the finish.
With the win, the Bombers improve to 2-0 on the season and earned a berth in the title bout to be held Sept. 27.
The bout started off close, with the Bombers holding a 15-12 lead after four jams. Then the Death Dealers ran into some early penalty trouble, forcing jammers Moonraker and Lady Shatterly off the track to sit in the 'sin bin,' or penalty box. The Bombers defense held the Dealers to two points in four jams, while N.O.S, Honey Delunatic and Salt Lick racked up 17 points to build a 19-point lead.
It was starting to look like the game was getting out of reach, so the Dealers regrouped and began battling back hard. Lady Shatterly and Moonraker combined for 24 points in six jams, cutting the Bombers’ lead to three points with five minutes remaining in the first half. At halftime, the scoreboard read: Bomber Babes 51, Death Dealers 44.
The second half began with a tactical struggle, as each team tried to defend against its opponents’ strengths. The Bombers finally broke through to a double-digit lead when Salt Lick topped Lady Shatterly 5-0 in the eighth jam of the period. Six jams later, the Bombers had built back to a 19-point lead.
In one of the most controversial plays of the night, Lady Shatterly took the line against the Bomber’s Cybil Disturbance in Jam 15 with just a few minutes remaining in the bout. Trying to put a dent in the Bomber’s lead, the Dealers defense held Cybil Disturbance in the pack while Lady Shatterly lapped the field for five points.
The trapped Cybil Disorder picked up her fourth minor penalty in the pack, sending her to the sin bin. Lady Shatterly, seeing the opportunity to score a lot of points while the opposing jammer was out of play, waved to her teammates to slow down the pack so she could catch up more easily. But a referee mistook Lady Shatterly’s wave for the hands-on-hips signal jammers use to call off a jam, and blew his whistle to end the jam.
The stunned Death Dealers called a time out so team captain Lady Octane could discuss the play with officials, but there was nothing to be done but line up for the next jam. Moonraker scored six points for the Dealers before being sent to the penalty box, closing the gap to eight points. But her penalty left the league's leading scorer N.O.S. on the jammer line alone to start the final jam of the bout, and N.O.S. won the jam 10-2 to bring the final score to 105-89.
Upcoming Bouts
The Dealers will face off against the Leave It to Cleavers on Aug. 16 to determine which team will face the Bombers in the league championship bout. And on Aug. 30, the Salt City Shakers all-star team will host the Battle Born Derby Demons of Reno. Visit slcderby.com for ticket information.
In other action, the Shakers will be facing Duke City Derby’s Muñecas Muertas from Albuquerque, N.M., in a Women’s Flat Track Derby Association sanctioned bout on Aug. 2 at Rollercon, the national roller derby conference held annually in Las Vegas. Duke City is the eighth-ranked league in the WFTDA’s western rankings.
Leading Scorers:
Bomber Babes:
N.O.S., 61 points
Honey Delunatic, 30 points
Death Dealers:
Lady Shatterly, 34 points
Moonraker, 29 points
Penalty Leaders:
Bomber Babes:
Hot Pantz, 7 times in the box
Phatal Pheremone, 6 times in the box
Death Dealers:
Moonraker, 6 times in the box
Bombshell Bruiser, Legg Beater and Movin’ Violation, 4 times in the box