LVRG vs. Ithaca Wrap Up 3/9/13

This weekend’s Lehigh Valley Rollergirls (LVRG) versus Ithaca’s Sufferjets (SJ) bout was a battle that brought down the track. Both teams came prepared with each team needing to bring home a sanctioned win for national rankings.  Led by Captain #711 Cam Arrow, the Sufferjets opened the bout with some fast gains of lead jammer status.  However, LVRG answered quickly with the help of jammers Betty Switch, Lauranimal and Ginga Railed U and took an early lead in the first half with a score of 30 (LVRG) to 25 (Sufferjets). 

Both teams were able to capitalize on 6 power jams in the first half. A power jam happens when the opposing jammer gets sent to the box on a penalty and forces her own team to have the inability to score for the entire time she is in the penalty box (up to one minute). These power jams typically result in a net gain from anywhere from 4 to 30 points.

LVRG's Hell Razin' Hussy takes out Ithaca's Jammer

Ithaca’s jammers, including #47 AKT-47, showed their strength early on in the first half and captured lead jammer status 55% of the jams (11 out of 20 jams).  Lead jammer status can really make or break a bout.  A team who gains lead jammer status can control strategically when to call off a jam and can block their opponent from score additional points. 

Coming out of the first half, both teams were still very evenly matched.  They both had the same number of power jams, were closely matched in penalties and Ithaca only had a 3 jam advantage with gaining lead jammer status over LVRG.  LVRG blockers Arista Crash, Hell Razin’ Hussy, Chikki Sixx and Evol Kitty held a tight pack and helped LVRG keep control in the first half of game play. At the end of the first half, the score was LVRG 61, Sufferjets 96.

LVRG's Levilin' Levi and Lin Diesel blocking Ithaca

The second half of game play started very aggressively.  Ithaca’s blockers #10 Ovarian Cyster and #03 Cold War had impeccable defense, not allowing LVRG break their formations.  Lehigh Valley’s Helen DaRink, Rose Beef, Loogie Vuitton and Phish Tahko also held strong to help jammers like Catalina Spine Mixer earn points with every pass.  LVRG’s blocking wall, led by Captain Lin Diesel, did its best to keep back advances from the Sufferjets.  In the second half, the Sufferjets secured 58% of the available lead jammer statuses.  LVRG’s veteran blocker and coach Levilin’ Levi stated, “The Sufferjets were strong, and had the speed to take advantage of any holes in our LVRG defense. Both teams were equally matched; however, the Sufferjets were able to capitalize when they were given the advantage.”  The advantage to the Sufferjets came not only in gaining lead jammer status, but also in LVRG penalties. LVRG had 6 additional penalty minutes (LVRG 33-SJ 27) than the Sufferjets which helped them get their edge over Lehigh Valley.  The end result of the bout was a win to Ithaca’s Sufferjets, 173-127.

The MVPs of the bout went to:

LVRG: Chikki Sixx #6AM

Ithaca: AKT-47 #47

The good news is that the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) national rankings are calculated much differently this year.  Rankings are based off a few different factors besides the end result of a Win/Loss, including point spread, your opponent’s strength score and other factors.  Because Ithaca’s Sufferjets had such a high strength score comparatively to LVRG, this bout will advance LVRG in their national rankings per the WFTDA.  To find out more about this new ranking calculator, you can find it here: http://wftda.com/files/wftda-rankings-calculator.pdf.  Based on this calculator, each team is awarded ranking points after each sanctioned game to be averaged into their overall rolling 12 month ranking based on this calculation:

LVRG's Rose Beef takes down Ithaca's jammer Gunder N' Lightning

Total Game Points Earned= Win/Loss Factor X Opponent’s Strength X Game Weight X 100

For this bout, LVRG will be awarded 94.8 points to be averaged into their 12 month score, and Ithaca will be awarded 86.5 (corrected, thank you) points to be averaged into their 12 month rolling score.  These scores will be reflective in the next ranking adjustment on April 1^st, 2013. 

Bout Statistical Recap:

	1st Half	2nd Half	Total
Total Jams	20	24	44
LVRG Lead	8	10	18
Ithaca Lead	11	14	25
LVRG Power Jams	6	3	9
Ithaca Power Jams	6	2	8
LVRG Penalties	16	17	33
Ithaca Penalties	17	10	27
LVRG Score	61	66	127
Ithaca Score	96	77	173

 

LVRG’s next home game will be on April 6^th, 2003 against Mother State. 

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com