North Star Bout Recap: Delta Delta Di 73, Violent Femmes 66
Posted by Softy Electric on January 17th, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12 – Facing a potential 0-3 start, the Delta Delta Di’s defense dug in and secured a 73-66 victory over the Violent Femmes Saturday night. The Deltas allowed 27 fewer points than in their loss to the Banger Sisters last month.
Delta Delta Di’s season hadn’t started as planned, as they lost their first two games following their league championship last season, but the team had vowed to stay the course with their effort and strategy. “We had minor changes, but only to cover our loss of players,” captain Frat Brat said. Assistant co-captain Ali Bye added, “Everyone who bouted worked really hard together… it ended up obviously working in our favor.”
Delta Delta Di broke open the game on the fourth jam as Violent Femmes jammer Tickle Me Elbow was sent to the penalty box. Jammer MEDUSA raced for 13 points on the jam, putting the Deltas up 27-12.
Delta Jammer Frat Brat looks for help from her team to break past formidable Femme blockers Camel Toni (left) and Kili St. Cyr (right) in what proved to be a very close bout. Delta Delta Di picked up their first win of the season after claiming league championship last year. Photo credit: Fotodog.
Throughout the majority of rest of the game, the Violent Femmes could only really play pace, unable to shrink the deficit to less than 8, but the team saved their rally for a big opportunity on the second-to-final jam, capitalizing on a bizarre sequence with the Delta jammers.
Following a team time out, Frat Brat came out to the track as Delta Delta Di’s jammer, only for a brief scramble to occur and the Deltas to call another time out. Naughty Kitty lined up as jammer instead only to be sent to the penalty box almost immediately. Violent Femmes’ jammer Block-n-Deck-Her scored 8 points on the jam, which brought the Femmes roaring back and down only one, 64-63.
Frat Brat explained, “I was afraid I would end up in the box – I don’t trust myself – so Kitty went out for me. Unfortunately, Kitty did end up in the box with a major.”
Being a bit confused – “The deciding ref was unable to tell us why the major was given,” Frat Brat said – and having lost their momentum, league scoring leader MEDUSA and her blockers still managed to clamp down and seal the victory with a 9-3 final jam.
Despite the loss, the Violent Femmes won lead jammer 10 times during the bout compared to the Delta Delta Di’s 9. The Deltas outscored the Femmes 20-14 in the 4 jams where neither team took lead. “We got a little sloppy a few jams and really paid the price,” Pivot Maiden Korea said.
The win marks the first for Delta Delta Di since their championship victory, and the team felt they were due. “It feels great - we lost our first two by not a lot of points, so we were definitely due for a win,” Ali Bye said. Frat Brat agreed: “All four teams in our league have been playing at the same level. It really is anyone’s season at this point.”
The second loss in a row for the Violent Femmes leaves them optimistic but searching for answers. “We need to re-emphasize working with each other as a team… we seemed a bit disconnected with each other and unfocused at times,” assistant co-captain Eda Mouthful said. “We have to work our butt off and not get discouraged,” Block-n-Deck-Her said. “Today was the Deltas’ day. But we played well.”
Game Notes:
+ The Violent Femmes received a brief scare at the end of the bout when jammer Kayzilla took a spill in the final 30 seconds. Paramedics arrived on scene and were on the track for several minutes. Several Femmes indicated that Kayzilla was shaken up but has no lingering injuries. “She had a pounding headache and was (mad) she couldn’t go out for an after-bout beer,” Maiden Korea said. After Kayzilla’s injury, the Violent Femmes officially forfeited the final 13 seconds remaining in the bout.
+ After scoring 49 points in this third bout, MEDUSA has a commanding lead in the league for scoring, amassing 165 points for the season.
+ There were three guest referees for this doubleheader: Roller Dex of Naptown Roller Girls and Rev. Riot and Marshall Law from the Mad Rollin’ Dolls.