And that, folks, is why you never leave a game early.
If you had left Saturday’s bout between Arizona Roller Derby’s Bad News Beaters and Surly Gurlies at halftime, you might have told your friends the result was a routine Beater victory by 50 points.
You would have been wrong.
The Beaters squeaked out a two-point victory in the final moments of the bout for a 161-159 win. They remain undefeated in the Arizona State Roller Derby Conference.
The Surlies made a furious rally in the second half of the bout to erase what had been a 60-point deficit.
The score was knotted at 148 with about three minutes remaining in the bout. Surly Gurlie jammer Luz Chaos, assisted by blockers H Face Killa and Cannibelle Corpse, had an eight-point jam to give her team its first lead of the second half.
But the success only lasted until the next whistle. A cut track penalty gave Beaters jammer Deez Nuts a power jam, which she used to give her team the game-winning points. Blue captain Ginger “Reeking” Havoc smartly called off the last jam before Surly jammer Car Bomb-ya could get back on the track.
Prior to the Surlies’ comeback, the Beaters had put on their usual display of solidly building a lead, jam by jam. They rattled off a 54-1 run in the first half, gaining lead jam status 12 times in that span. The blue defense, led by Whoop C, Loco Lena, Gingersaurus Wrex and Block ‘n’ Dek Her, repeatedly used the waterfalling technique to push opposing jammers out of bounds.
In the second half the Surlies stepped up the defense and took advantage of power jams. Luz Chaos lit up the track for the elusive unicorn, a 25-point jam. It helped that her wall of blockers prevented an attempt at “recycling” their jammer to the back of the pack by taking down the Beater who tried to move backward. Surly defense was led by Amunisha, Cannibelle Corpse, H Face Killa and Hannah Barbaric.
Deez Nutz of the Beaters led all scorers with 64 points, while her teammates Loco Lena had 48 and Ginger “Reeking” Havoc had 34. For the Surlies, Car Bomb-ya had 57, Luz Chaos had 55 (all in the second half) and Pushy Tushy had 47.
While the Surlies may have come in as the underdog in this bout — the undefeated Beaters have racked up a string of victories against them — there was no doubt who the crowd was rooting for. Pirate fans packed the bleachers, and the Dread Fleet Pirates were there to cheer on their mates.
The last time these teams faced each other, almost a year ago to the day, the Beaters took a 207-114 victory. Saturday’s bout was much closer.
Next up for these teams will be November’s Arizona State Roller Derby Conference tournament in Tucson.
— PulHitzHer Prize