2017 D2 Playoffs Game 24: No Coast vs. Columbia
No Coast Derby Girls (#9) vs. Columbia QuadSquad Rollergirls (#11)
The first consolation game of the 2017 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs and Championships pitted the Mad Maxines of No Coast Roller Derby, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA (#9) against the Columbia QuadSquad Rollergirls of Columbia, South Carolina, USA ( #11) for eleventh place in the tournament. The match-up featured wide point swings and more than five lead changes, but Columbia QuadSquad managed its final upset, toppling the women from Lincoln in an 11-point barn burner.
Columbia took the initial lead in the game, scoring early in the first seven jams and relying on their jammers Poison Violet and Gilly the Kid to pave the way. In the first of many turns, though, No Coast rallied with a big point grab and locked-in defense from their blockers Andrea Tarnick and Emily Epperson. The blocking and slow-moving, tight packs, saw No Coast’s Mad Maxines take a leap in points on the scoreboard as they held the QuadSquad All-Stars scoreless for seven jams. The spread, at 37–18 favoring No Coast, was quickly narrowed when, after a five minute official review initiated by No Coast, Columbia regrouped and brought the score within five points in the following two jams.
A pivotal low block call on No Coast jammer Frostbite toward the end of the first half gave Gilly the Kid the chance to overtake the Mad Maxines by scoring 10 points after Poison Violet’s 14 in the previous jam. No Coast found themselves in some serious blocker trouble, with more than three jams where the team could only field one blocker to hold the QuadSquad. With a little over five minutes left in the first period, No Coast’s Slam picked up three points to start a momentum shift in favor of the Mad Maxines; Columbia’s Agent Cherry Maim’her went to the box on a track cut. In the last three jams of the period, two of three went for the full two minutes, and the point advantage went to No Coast. In those three jams, the teams put up a total of 50 points, as the tension and grapple for the lead going into halftime was at a fever pitch. Blocking from Columbia’s Rox Ann Stones held No Coast’s jammer Babraham Lincoln long enough to give Gilly the Kid the lead and the point advantage. Despite the spike from Gilly, Columbia’s jammer Must Dash went to the box twice in the final jam of the period. Only three points separated the teams at half-time: 74–71 in favor of the QuadSquad.
No Coast had the opportunity for a power start at the opening of the second period, as QuadSquad’s Must Dash had a holdover penalty from the first period. No Coast’s Slam picked up nine points and marginal lead in the first jam, making the score 80–74. Blocking from No Coast locked in its defense fully soon after when blockers Bubbles D Butcher, Elizabeth Cain, and LaDonna Craig rotated with aplomb, stifling the efforts of Must Dash. Blocking penalties started to make a difference in play as the second period rolled on. No Coast lost blocker Emily Epperson in the seventh jam, and Andrea Tarnick quickly accrued six penalties; Rox Ann Stones of Columbia also skated with six penalties as minutes waned in period two.
Columbia managed to keep No Coast at bay for nearly 17 minutes in the middle of the second period. With 3:44 left in the game No Coast called a timeout and then followed it with an eight-point jam from No Coast’s Slam, which brought the Mad Maxines on top at 156–154 as Gilly the Kid went to the penalty box for Columbia. As the clock read 2:12, Columbia also took a timeout and, like No Coast in the jam prior, was able to take lead status when Poison Violet grabbed nine uncontested points. The lead was in the QuadSquad’s favor with just 43 seconds remaining, at which point No Coast used its final timeout. Jammer Must Dash took the line for QuadSquad and Slam donned the star for No Coast. Must Dash took a quick line on the outside to grab lead and one scoring pass as the clock wound down to 27 seconds. With no timeouts left and having used their official review early on in the period, No Coast had no way to reset for a final attempt to take the game. Columbia upset No Coast by 11 points, 167–156 and took the eleventh-place finish in the tournament.
FINAL SCORE
No Coast Derby Girls (#9, WFTDA #49) 156 – 12th Place
Columbia QuadSquad Rollergirls (#11, WFTDA #52) 167 – 11th Place
Back to 2017 International WFTDA D2 Playoffs and Championships Tournament Central