Defense and strategy would win the day as both teams exhibited intense awareness of the game. With the jammers and defenses evenly matched, the jams were short and low-scoring. Both teams held under 100 points? A point differential of less than 20? Gadzooks! Could it be Roller Derby? In Tucson? Yes!
First Half
After a closely contested opening three jams left the score at 3-3, the Copper Queens began to slowly but surely pull ahead. Jam 4, between Bianka Trohl (for Iron Curtain) and Ferocious Oxide (for Copper Queens), proved to be a showcase for the defensive play of Copper Queen Powder Keg who seemed to be in a groove from this point forward. She would make her presence at the back of the pack known many times this night and in this jam she would almost single-handedly hold back Bianka Trohl for the entire jam. Bianka would never break pack and Fero scored a textbook grandslam, bumping the score to 8-3 in favor of the Queens.
Rookie sensation Luc3f3r, last seen turning heads for the Tucson all-stars at the Four Corner Feud tournament in Colorado Springs, took the star for IC against Dirty Teri for CQ. If all eyes were on Luce they were watching the wrong jammer because Teri would do what she would go on to do many times this night: win a jam by a lopsided margin. Teri broke pack quickly and was on her first scoring pass before Luc3f3r would leave the pack ... to go sit in the penalty box. Finding herself on the right end of a power jam, Teri easily completed a second pass before calling the jam, making it two grand slams, 10 points and a 18-3 lead for the Copper Queens.
The next jam began with Luc3f3r still in the box and Pixie Axe jamming for the Queens. Luce's penalty expired in time for her to join the pack on its first pass. Perhaps not scoring in her first two jams left her feeling she had something to prove -- nobody saw her coming when she shot back onto the track at top speed, passing the entire pack on the outside in less than half a lap. She won lead and countered Teri's last jam exactly, 10-0, to bring the score right back to interesting -- 18-13 in favor of the Queens. To quote Tucson's fabulous announcers: Hail Satan.
Powder Keg took a turn jamming next, earning a grand slam over Punchkisser and pushing the Copper Queen lead to 10 points, 23-13. But the next seven jams reverted to the low-scoring back and forth seen in the first three jams, with three of these jams going completely scoreless. Most notable would again be the play of Powder Keg, who by the end of this stretch had well established herself as the Queens antidote to Luc3f3r. The Iron Curtain fell deep into penalty trouble during this time and the Queens would take advantage 14-2, stretching their lead to 37-15.
Luc3f3r finally scored again in a 4-0 jam against Dirty Teri. This jam is well remembered not so much for the points, however, but for the crowd-pleasing mega-super-skirt-whip shown below. Turns out the Iron Curtain's new uniforms don't just look good, but they are in fact secret communist super weapons.
But that was it for Iron Curtain scoring on the half, shut out in the closing three frames. In the last jam of the half, with the Iron Curtain already down by 20 points, Dirty Teri delivered what many might have seen as the nail in the coffin, an 8-0 jam that sent the game to half time with the Queens holding a commanding 47-19 lead. Teri proved effective in the second half as well, but her performance in the first half should be credited as game-winning, outscoring her opposing jammers 26-5. That's a 21-point difference in a bout ultimately decided by 14 points.
Second Half
But the Iron Curtain would keep it interesting. The second half saw much less of them in the penalty box and much more of them scoring. After a quick 0-0, the Iron Curtain took command over the next five jams, whittling away at the Copper Queens lead, outscoring them 15-8 and bringing the score to a more manageable 55-34.
The rally wouldn't last, though. The Queens, with continued pack-play dominance from blocker Powder Keg, followed up with a tremendous defensive stand, taking lead jam seven times in a row and holding the Iron Curtain to a mere two points (courtesy of Luc3f3r). By the end of that run, the score was 73-36 and the game clock read 12:59.
Momentum swung back to the Curtain, but only slightly, and not by large margins. Over the next eight minutes and six jams, the Iron Curtain's biggest win was a 5-0 grand slam for their captain Kamanda. They'd outscore the Copper Queens 15-7, but time was running out -- it was 80-51 with only 5 minutes to play.
Punchkisser, jamming for the IC, quickly took lead over Pixie Axe. Pixie looked to be hot on her heels but IC blocker Bianka Trohl didn't let up, jumping in front of the pack, catching the Queens jammer, and holding onto her long enough for the pack to catch back up to her. Frustration, distraction, or simple error, Pixie Axe would then get herself thrown in the box just as Punch began her first scoring pass. Punch passed the pack before Pixie could sit down, a golden opportunity for the trailing team. Punch called off the jam, taking it 5-0 and giving the entire power jam to Luc3f3r.
Credit goes to the Queens defense for cracking down at the right time. Luc3f3r would eventually break pack, but not after having 75 precious seconds wasted. So what does a superstar do with her other 45 seconds? Stupid question. Obviously she scores 10 points, taking the jam 10-0 and bringing the score firmly into miracle-comeback-range, 80-66.
The last jam began with 13 seconds left -- Bianka Trohl versus CQ ace Dirty Teri. Teri had been grabbing lead all night and all the derby-savvy fans knew that if she did it again, she could simply call off the jam and end the game ... but naturally, as adrenaline would have it, Bianka immediately grabbed lead jammer in just over a single lap. Teri, meanwhile, was uncharacteristically stymied by the Iron Curtain defense. A 14-0 jam is a tall order, but if it was to happen, this jam couldn't have started better for the Curtain. However, it was not to be. Teri eventually broke free and Bianka eventually hit a wall. The jam expired at a 7-7 tie and the 14-point deficit remained.
The Iron Curtain won the second half 54-40, but the Copper Queens took the bout 87-73.
Tucson's next action takes place on April 18 in an intraleague doubleheader: the Copper Queens throw down with the undefeated VICE Squad while the winless Furious Truckstop Waitresses get it on with the Iron Curtain.
Photos: David Anderson
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