May 21 Bout: a Shore Thing

In Saturday’s bout in Morristown between the Jerzey Derby Brigade (JDB) and the visiting Jersey Shore Roller Girls (JSRG), what appeared at first to be a runaway night for the Shore turned into an exciting contest.

The bout began with #8 Emma Effa putting 10 points on the board for JSRG. #414 Mick Stob Her added more in a grand slam and #9 Ja Jolter pushed the JSRG score up to a 50 point lead. All three would repeat their success throughout the match with #8 showing exceptional ability to break through the pack and circle around at speed. #64 Madeleine Alfight put the first points on the board for the JDB. Despite gains by JDB skaters #8 Lil MO Peep and #3684 CaliforniKate, at the end of the first half the JDB trailed JSRG 49-94.

For much of the second half JSRG held its 50 point advantage, widening it at one point to 74 points. JSRG’s early success owed much to effective blocking favoring the diamond formation, a blocking tactic that originated in Australia. JDB increasingly used the same tactic as the night wore on to equally good effect. The game turned when JDB’s CaliforniKate lapped the pack four times and closed retightened the gap to 80-129. Although JSRG continued to score and provide stiff resistance, JDB chipped at the lead. Lil MO Peep took JDB over the century mark to 115-157. In a remarkable series of jams in the last 7 minutes of the bout JDB jammers (including #1 LL Kill J in a star pass) closed the gap to 11 points. In the final jam #9 Ja Jolter and #8 Lil MO Peep both broke through the pack and circled for points.

The whistle blew with a surprisingly close final score of 159-166 in favor of the Jersey Shore.

MVPs: #8 Emma Effa (jammer) and #610 Tina Slay (blocker) for JSRG; #64 Madeleine Alfight (jammer) and #17 Beast Witherspoon (blocker) for JDB.