I lost my derby money to Frisky Sour who not only took my bet but then helped the Betties excel to a commanding 148 to 83 win over Bend’s Smokin’ Ashes by contributing her own 14 points from the jam line and laying down some impressive defense. My prediction of a 30 point spread final score and close game with lead changes was also way off. But in my defense: the Break Neck Betties are a sneaky, deceitful bunch with their last minute lineup changes.
Ashes' Joyride lines up against Betties' Soulfearic Acid
That’s right- they lured us in with the promise of a No-WOJ roster and a chance to see newer Betties in action against the short-skated, 11-deep (shallow?) Ashes roster. It wasn’t until 7:30pm, 30 minutes to game time, that they dropped a new roster replacing The Princess Snide and Bom’chelle with none other than the Lick-Nutz combo. Not only would the Betties be skating with 3 more players than the Ashes, 3 are current WOJ skaters: Licker, Nutz, and new Wheels recruit Soulfearic Acid. The Betties Blond Trifecta racked up a total of 99 points for the Betties (36, 27, 36 respectively)- 67% of the Betties’ total score- and all three made an impressive showing in the pack as blockers. Maybe the Betties- in their “refuse to lose” approach to a friendly scrimmage- should have fielded Rhrea Derange to round out their WOJ jammer lineup to give that score the extra boost it needed to go beyond unbalance into the realm of un-sporting ridiculous. But don’t even worry about it- Domesticated Violence added her own 20 points and Lethal Lolita put another 11 on the board. The remaining 4 points were contributed by Betties captain and AOA member Shove Me Tender who decided to nurse an injury the rest of the night rather than put more hurt on the the Ashes.
All 7 of the remaining Betties happily rotated through the blocking lineup keeping themselves plenty rested to give the hits and take breaks as needed- a luxury not afforded to the Ashes’ 2-lineup bench.
Leave it to Betties’ to take their home court advantage above and beyond with a stacked roster.
The Ashes held Barba Hella scoreless with a no-nonsense defensive pack
The Ashes didn’t let this unbalance upset them one iota, though, as their brave 11 took to the track jam-after-jam without hesitation through the night. Their jammers put plenty of points on the board: Buxom Booty with 10, Joyride at 25, Screamin’ Meanie with 17, and Speedo Bandito with a team-leading 30 points total. [Note: That doesn’t add up to 83, but I’m tired of trying to find a discrepancy in informal stats]
I give props to a team that, come Hell, high water, and hits to the face, will show that much spirit for the full game even facing a daunting point deficit. The Ashes’ pack was there to compete to the last jam laying down plenty of hits and positional defense to give the Betties a challenge. In the second half they closed the half-time 61 point spread to a mere 44 points for a time and held the Betties scoreless for 13 (non-consecutive) jams.
The Ashes made a tremendous showing against Rose City’s Ladies in Red and despite their underhandedness the Betties fielded some impressive newer skaters who we’re sure to see more of in upcoming bouts.
We’re running polls for Ashes MVP and Most Valuable Bettie in the public forum so drop your votes and let us know what you thought of the match up! Sharkey has already published some photos and I’m sure more will be available soon- check our Photos page for more. Huge thanks to the candy-corn colored team from Bend for giving our Portland audience a fun Friday night show- I look forward to seeing this team continue to build what’s destined to be a major contender in the Pacific Northwest.
Check the RCR Events Calendar for more upcoming $5 Friday Night scrimmages and visit lavacityrollerdolls.com for more info about our sisters to the Southeast.
