LINCOLN, NE -- The Arch Rival Roller Girls gained their first official WFTDA win 78-57 over the No Coast Derby Girls all-star squad, the Mad Maxines, at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The 44th-ranked Arch Rival all-stars were coming off a narrow two-point loss to Fort Wayne, while the 33rd-ranked Mad Maxines had a one-point win in Northwest Arkansas only a week before.

On the second jam of the evening, the Arch Rivals took the early lead as Chokehold Chanel completed a four-point scoring pass against Lt. SlamHer, making the score 5-1. They extended their lead to 9-3 in jam five. Both jammers were battered through the jam, and neither could take lead status, but Arch Rival Artemischief recovered and scored more quickly, delighting the St. Louis contingent in the audience.

Over the next three jams, the Mad Maxines rotation of Sylvia Bullet, Flash Gloria, and Lt. SlamHer all pulled lead jammer, but chipped away only three points in total. Next, Sylvia Bullet approached the pack in front of lead jammer Artemischief -- but  Sylvia was stalled again by Arch Rival blocking while Artemischief darted through and called it off with a 4-2 advantage. The score stood at Arch Rival 13, No Coast 8 fifteen minutes into the first half.

Arch Rival teamwork, escorting jammers and forming clusters of three blockers to defend, was narrowly besting the aggressive but independent tactics of No Coast. Both sides proved capable of devastating clean hits; throughout the evening, many jams would be called off early due to the lead jammer being spilled onto the unforgiving concrete or tangled in the furniture.

In the tenth jam, Mad Maxines blockers were in the penalty box but Flash Gloria netted a 3-0 against Chokehold Chanel. Next, Arch Rival jammer Eva Lasting Jawbreaker was sent to the box, and Lt. SlamHer picked up three more points. Tenacious Arch Rival defense wouldn't allow any lopsided jams, but nevertheless No Coast inched ahead 14-13 with 11:43 to go.

Arch Rival Roller Girls immediately retook the lead on the wheels of Jenny Bonebreak, who dropped a 5-0 on Sylvia Bullet. The following jam, after initially getting stuffed, Artemischief took advantage of the 20 foot rule to break loose for a 10-0 double grand slam against Flash Gloria. With 15 unanswered points, Arch Rival had their biggest lead of the bout at 28-14.

The gap would remain the same going into halftime -- helped by ARRG's Jenny Bonebreak getting a big 10-0 against Lt. SlamHer in the final scoring jam of the first half. The intermission total stood at 40-23 for visiting Arch Rival.

Second Half

Arch Rival kept the momentum as the second half started, riding Artemischief to a 9-1 win and a 49-24 lead. ARRG's Eva Lasting Jawbreaker scored a 3-0 with no lead jammer as Flash Gloria sat out for a penalty. To cap the scoring run against a stiffening No Coast defense, Chokehold Chanel earned four more points before her motion was tabled. At 56-24, the Arch Rival all-stars once again had built the widest margin of the bout.

The Mad Maxines adjusted their strategy. Sylvia Bullet dashed ahead of Jenny Bonebreak, scoring 5-3 before an assist went awry and caused a belly flop. Next up, powerful ThickaThanAhSnicka debuted in the jammer rotation for the Maxines, while Lt. SlamHer added leadership and intensity among the blockers. The Arch Rivals sent back The Siege to jam, and she got the lead and two points. A long jam followed with Flash Gloria leaving for a penalty but gaining lead status out of the box, only to be eventually caught by Artemischief.

The surge by No Coast continued in jam 25 as Snicka delivered a 6-0 against Chokehold Chanel. They still trailed ARRG 61-38 with about fifteen minutes to play, but the comeback wasn't over yet. After a narrow 2-1 Arch Rival win, the next three jams were all No Coast: Sylvia Bullet, ThickaThanAhSnicka, and Flash Gloria each got lead status and four points. Then Sylvia, starting with opposing jammer Chokehold Chanel in the penalty box, kicked in a 5-zip jam -- and legitimate hope for the home league. Arch Rival, with their lead narrowed to 65-56, called a time out with 6:34 remaining on the clock.

The Siege lined up to jam opposite ThickaThanAhSnicka again. This time, The Siege continued to shock and awe until her 13-0 significantly eroded the No Coast inroad. Flash Gloria was not stunned by the reversal and became lead jammer versus Artemischief, but had to settle for 1-0 against alert Arch Rival defense. With 2:52 left and a 21 point scoring gap, offense fizzled out, and the final scoreboard tally displayed a 78-57 victory for the St. Louis crew.

Unofficial Statistics

Artemischief of the Arch Rivals scored the most with 30 points in only 8 jams. Her +19 jammer point differential was pretty much the winning margin. Jenny Bonebreak contributed 18 points in 8 jams with a +7 differential, The Siege 17 in 5 jams with a +15 differential, Chokehold Chanel 8 in 8 jams, and Eva Lasting Jawbreaker 5 in 4 jams. Powering them to victory were Ana Warpath, Davey Blockit, Grave Danger, Joanie Rollmoan, Mayor Francis Slayer, Overland Offender, Riddle Lynn, Shanghai Lily, and The Educator.

Sylvia Bullet shone brightly for the Mad Maxines with 25 points in 10 jams, and a +9 jammer point differential. Flash Gloria contributed 12 points in 13 jams,  ThickaThanAhSnicka 10 points in 4 jams, and Lt. SlamHer 10 points in 7 jams. No Coast also deployed scrappy veterans Kelly Ripa-Nipalov, Juana Whipin, Miss Anthropy, Glitter Dunn, Chazie Skateweather, Venus de Psycho, Champ Paine, Kobra Kai, and Lizzy Fistface.

Schedule

The Mad Maxines next host a rematch with the 25th-ranked Denver Roller Dolls on August 30. Denver has replaced half of their all-star Mile High Club roster since their convincing win last year.

Next up for the Arch Rival all stars are the 35th-ranked Killbillies visit St. Louis from Northwest Arkansas on September 13. The winner should move up in the rankings; another close bout is likely.