The Cincinnati Rollergirls couldn’t have asked for a better result from their first-ever double-header at Xavier University’s Cintas Center on Sept. 10, 2022.

First, CRG’s A team, the Black Sheep, defeated Bowling Green, KY’s Vette City Roller Derby Vixens 150-129. Then CRG’s B team, the Violent Lambs, followed up with a victory of their own over the Vette City Hot Broads, 144-116.

Although CRG was favored to win, the predictions were based on outdated rankings from the last full competitive roller derby season in 2019, and both teams have had some turnover during the pandemic. As it turned out, the teams were closely matched and Vette City was always within striking distance, keeping fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle blew.

In the first game of the night, the Vixens jumped out to an early 10-8 lead after both teams’ jammers, CRG’s Nuk’em and Vette City’s Queen of Hearts, took trips to the penalty box. But Nuk’em made up for lost time in jam two, and the Black Sheep took the lead and kept it for the remainder of the game help from fellow jammers Whitlash and Princess Derby and a solid core of largely veteran blockers.

Even with many skaters double-rostered, the B teams seemed even more closely matched, and the Violent Lambs led the Hot Broads by just 23 points at halftime. Toward the end of the second half, the Lambs ran into serious jammer penalty trouble and led by only 10 points with just over three minutes left in the game. But then jammers Whitlash, Star Flatten’em and Jackie the Ripper — all of whom were playing in their first public roller derby games — went on a 17-0 scoring run to give the Lambs the win.

Miss the action? Watch the archived livestream on wftda.tv.

Top Scorers

CRG Black Sheep: Nuk’em (86), Whitlash (34), Princess Derby (24)
Vette City Vixens: Queen of Hearts (60), Janet Snakehole (26), Bambi ThumpHer (18)
CRG Violent Lambs: Jackie the Ripper (49), Whitlash (35), Star Flatten’em (33)
Vette City Hot Broads: Silent But Deadly (31), Scarlet Fever (25), Floorah (16)

MVPs:

CRG Black Sheep: Sailor Scary (blocker), Nuk’em (jammer)
Vette City Vixens: Chas the RipHer (blocker), Janet Snakehole (jammer)
CRG Violent Lambs: Crystal Whip (blocker), Jackie the Ripper (jammer)
Hot Broads: Bambi ThumpHer (blocker), Silent But Deadly (jammer)

Next Game

Saturday, Oct. 8 at Sports Plus. Check back soon for more details.