BLOOMINGTON, IN -- Bloomington, Indiana’s Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls hosted Louisville Kentucky’s Derby City Rollergirls on their infamously slippery basketball court in Bloomington’s Sportplex [sic] —the same floor where the B-team from regional powerhouse Cincinnati, the Silent Lambs, had gone down to defeat only weeks prior. In a bout that seemed to last minutes, featured a late-game scoring controversy, and culminated in a heart-stopping final score of 97-95, it was not immediately clear who the winner was between these well-matched squads.

Derby City brought their best game--both mentally and physically prepared for the bout with a few new faces on the roster, including jammer Jensurgency (a transfer from River City Rollergirls in Richmond, Virginia), and a new Interim Coach, former speed skating champ Mo’Jo Sensei.  DCRG was eager to bring a little schoolin’ to this sleepy college town on a hot summer night, and everyone walked away with a wealth of experience.

Spectators were extremely vocal all night, reflecting the amazingly close see-saw score, as each team took turns getting as far as 15 points ahead of the other, before turning on the juice and coming back to even the score.  This was a 2 period bout using a hybrid ruleset, which may have put DCRG at an additional disadvantage, but both teams handled the challenge with commitment and tenacity. Bleeding Heartland maintained lead jammer status through most of the first period, with DCRG only finding their stride on the slippery track toward the end of the first.