2017 D2 Playoffs Game 13:
Jet City vs. Naptown

Jet City Rollergirls (#4) vs. Naptown Roller Derby (#12)

The first game of Day 2 at the 2017 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was a supremely physical match between the Jet City Rollergirls’ Bombers of Everett, Washington, USA (#4, WFTDA #44) and the Tornado Sirens of Naptown Roller Derby, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ( #12, WFTDA #53). With a seesaw of scoring from the first half to the second, Naptown took the win 218–129, upsetting the #4-ranked Bombers from Washington.

Naptown established their dominance early on in the game, taking lead jammer and a leading score in the first three jams of play on Saturday morning. A power jam for Sofa King Ninja of Jet City was the start of an unfortunate trend for Naptown, however, and the team dropped seven power jams in the Bombers’ lap as the half progressed. During the seven Bomber power jams, Naptown lost 68 points to Jet City. Similarly, the loss of Tornado Siren blockers to the penalty box aided in this net gain for the women from Washington. With 14 minutes left in the first half, Naptown had already accrued 15 trips to the box to Jet City’s eight. The blocking from Jet City, led by Beethoven’s Fist, remained unrelenting as the Bombers took to the track, refusing to give Naptown an inch. Jet City’s blocker Bombshell, however, fell into some penalty trouble, accruing five before halftime. This deficit — losing Bombshell to the box — made only a small dent, however, as Naptown blockers and jammers kept departing for penalties. At one point, Naptown pivot Cherry-oto-Fire was the only blocker on the track, her fellow Sirens in queue to serve their penalties.

Going into halftime, Jet City had a narrow but strong lead of 99–85 over Naptown. Halftime was a turning point for Naptown, though, and whatever was said in the locker room had a powerful effect, putting the wind back into the Tornado Sirens’ sails. The second half of play for both teams was nearly unrecognizable from the first, in fact. Whereas the first half saw drawn-out jams — more than three going for the full two minutes — in the second half, jams were short and sweet, and fully in the hands and skates of the Naptown Sirens. The team started with 89 points but rapidly tied things up after five jams and eclipsed the Jet City Bombers’ points by the sixth jam. Once Naptown harnessed the lead, they never let go; in fact, the team in red took lead jammer 21 out of 25 jams, outscoring Jet City 133–30. With 13 minutes left in the game, Jet City’s blocker Bombshell fouled out. Two injuries — one for each team — stopped the clock during play. Highlights in blocking for the second half went to the Sirens also, as pivot Wham Bam and Cherry-oto-Fire continued to rain down suffering on the Bombers. The game ended with coordinated plays from Jet City, but it wasn’t enough to counter the onslaught that the Sirens brought to the second half of play. Naptown upset Jet City 218–129.

FINAL SCORE

Jet City ( #4, WFTDA #44) 129
Naptown ( #12, WFTDA #53) 218

Naptown moves on to play in Game 21 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time against Dublin Roller Derby (#16). Jet City moves to play in the consolation bracket against No Coast (#9) at 4:00 Eastern Time this afternoon in Game 17.