Bout Recap: Dames 153 - Kansas City 135
Dames overcome 40-point deficit to collect 5th win of the season.
July 18, 2011

On a steamy, hot day in Des Moines, the Des Moines Derby Dames prepared to complete their second full season with a battle against their WFDTA sisters, the Kansas City Roller Warriors Plan B. It didn't take long for the action on the track to get as hot as the day outside.

Early in the bout the Dames claimed and held to a lead that varied from 3-12 points. D3's jammers were satisfied with calling off jams after one scoring pass in the hopes that Kansas City's jammers were far enough back to net little to no points. When Kansas City did claim lead jam status, it was common for them to concede to a D3 jammer in hot pursuit and call the jams before either could score.

The points came few and far between for much of the first half. Fans held their breath as jammer Stella Italiana went down with a knee injury half way through the first half. After a quick icing and trip to the locker room, Stella was able to return late in the first period.

As it turns out, D3 needed her to come through in a major way. Leading 69-49 with 90 seconds remaining in the half, Kansas City's jammer was sent to the box shortly after the start of the jam. This left Stella alone to jam and try to bring the Dames closer. In a flurry of passes, Stella ripped through the Kansas City defense and began to light up the scoreboard. Kansas City's jammer could only sit helpless in the penalty box as Stella racked up 22 points. Stella called the jam before Kansas City's jammer made her scoring pass. The Dames had come from behind to take the halftime lead, 71-69.

The Dames would need more comeback magic.

As the second half began, Kansas City continued to rely on their star jammers Black Ice and Bomb Pop and started to work in Jamalamadingdong to give the main duo a rest. The Dames were content with their revolving door of jammers Stella, Smallsbury Steak, Cosmo Disco, Autopsy Turvey and Show Stopper. Early in the second half, D3 started to find themselves incapable of staying out of the penalty box. On more than one occasion, there would be a full house of Dames in the box while the walls on the track suffered. Kansas City was able to overcome the small deficit at the half and was starting to pull away with a 40 point lead as the clock reached under 10 minutes to go in the bout.

Then, something incredible happened.

Suddenly, the Dames' walls tightened and the penalties became fewer and fewer between. It began with an incredible power jam from Stella Italiana that netted 14 points. That was followed by a strong jam by Cosmo Disco for double digit points and two more strong jams by Stella and Cosmo. D3 held lead jammer status for four straight jams and more importantly, scored many points. Kansas City was back on their heels with minor penalties catching up with them, sending many players to the box. Within a span of 6 minutes, the Dames had not only come back, they were leading by almost 20 points. There were less than 3 minutes to go in the bout and the crowd was in a frenzy. Fans stood, yelled and cheered. You couldn't hear the whistles blowing, let alone the emcees play-by-play calls.

The Dames had to fight through one final tense jam as Kansas City's Black Ice gained lead jammer status with less than 2 minutes to go. The Dames' defense held and they were able to run out the clock and secure the victory.

As the confetti rained down on the players and the crowd roared, you could almost hear the audible sighs of relief from the 10 uniformed Dames skaters. Another season in the books and for the second season in a row, they went out on a very high note.