Fresh off a decisive mid-August spanking of the third-ranked Philadelphia Liberty Belles, Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls bounced into Chicago’s UIC Pavillion Saturday night looking to hand the Windy City All-Stars an unprecedented second home loss. The tenacious and opportunistic Charm City whittled down a huge Windy City lead late in the second half while Chicago players circled the track waiting to take seats in a crowded penalty box. But a 20-point jam by rookie All-Star Ruth Enasia and door-closing defense late in the bout by veteran beat-down artist Hoosier Mama sealed the win for Windy City, 117-98.

During introductions, Charm City upstaged the home team by bunching into a tight pack and bouncing in unison to Windy City’s theme song, “Move Bitch.” But apparently in a hurry to expectorate the bitter taste of a one-point home loss to Philly in July, Windy City used the first 10 minutes of the half to roll up a 28-0 lead, sparked by a pair of grand slams by Athena DeCrime in the third jam. Charm City did not get on the board until the eleventh minute of the game, and managed just nine points for the first 18 minutes. Adept, physical defense by Ying O'Fire, Blossom Bruiso, and Malice With Chains allowed Windy City jammers to rack up points on every one of the first 12 jams despite playing one or two players short.

With 15 minutes left in the half and down 40-9, a Charm City jammer’s skate locked up; she lay on the center side of the track boundary tugging at a wheel, handing Windy City’s Shocka Conduit a virtual free pass. With the Charm City bench screaming, she finally crawled onto the track, obligating officials to whistle the jam dead. WCR challenged the call, which was eventually upheld. The long official’s time out seemed to advantage Charm City, however, which finally capitalized on WCR mistakes.

In the twelfth jam, with a WCR skater already in the box, Ying O'Fire and Blossom Bruiso were both sent off with majors in the first 30 seconds of the jam. Showing why she is one of the nation’s best at the front of the pack, Charm City’s Dolly Rocket punished what was left of the WCR blockers while Just Carol stirred the pot for 16 points.

Hoosier Mama and Yvette YourMaker (who was supported by a large fan club with matching t-shirts camped behind the WCR bench) neutralized notable Baltimore rookie Bambi’s Revenge, and the two teams played scoreless for several minutes until the half’s last jam. With only a minute left, Just Carol looked positioned to exploit a power jam, but Hoosier, Malice, and Go-Go Hatchet slammed the door with a dramatic penalty kill.

Up 58-33 at the start of the second half, the Windy City All-Stars were as dominating as the half-time’s “Stanky Leg” contest was a bust. (One was as likely to find a fan doing arabesques, Norwegian folk dance, or the Hustle as the Stanky Leg.) In jam 2, Hoosier Mama whipped Varla Vendetta to a grand slam, and the game’s most valuable player would go on to score 13 total before the whistle blew. An eight point power jam by Athena DeCrime just seconds later—made possible by great blocking from Malice, Megan Formor, and Ying—stretched the Chicago lead to 78-42 seven minutes into the half.

Baltimore captain Joy Collision danced to the line for the fourth jam, defying what looked to be a pending Windy City blowout. When Varla Vendetta was sent off with a major, Collision showed the speed for which she has become famous, cutting the WCR lead to 79-51. Two jams later, however, Hoosier Mama ran a one-on-one blocking clinic on Baltimore’s Just Carol while Ruth Enasia racked up the night’s biggest jam and the bout’s winning points.

Unfazed, Joy Collision seemed to generate more energy as Charm City fell further behind. Down 106-54, Baltimore kept its foot on the gas while the wheels started coming off the Windy City Express. Further energized by its demonstrative coach, Mr. Pistol, who tried to signal officials about a Chicago penalty by shattering his clipboard with his elbow, Charm City outscored WCR 44-5 over the next 12 minutes as the home team gave away repeated power jams. Windy City played three successive jams with as few as two blockers; Duchess of Torque took advantage in jam 13 by racking up 10 points.

With 1:09 left and Windy City up 115-98, Hoosier Mama—tough as cheap meat and cool as the other side of the pillow—single-handedly tied up Flo Shizzle until Vendetta could sneak out of the box, pick up lead jammer, and seal the win for Chicago, 117-98. Windy City, currently fourth in WFTDA’s national rankings, will take the floor as the Number One seed at the North Central Regional Tournament in St Paul, Minnesota, September 18th and 19th.

“I feel overmatched,” Tommy Lee Jones’ character says in “No Country for Old Men.” Also fighting an unstoppable and unforgiving force, the Windy City Rollers' “B” team knew the feeling Saturday night. The Second Wind warmed up the UIC Pavilion crowd by hosting the Burning River Roller Girls prior to the main event between the Windy City All-Stars and Charm City. The Second Wind, formed just earlier this summer and playing its first home game ever, played hard but came up short in a 80-38 loss to Cleveland’s A travel team, seeded tenth in the upcoming North Central Regional Tournament.

Second Wind jammers were sent to the box within the first 20 seconds of both the second and third jams, and barely five minutes into the bout Burning River was up 24-0. Some 10 minutes into the half, Second Wind seemed to come together. Amy Nonamey delivered two strong hits at the front of the pack to spring the team’s first lead jammer in jam 6, and Eva Dead got the crowd into the game moments later, taking lead jammer by rounding turn four with her right skate hugging the inside line and her left skate dangling over it.

Second Wind blockers Sargentina, Nonamey, Loco Chanel, and Di Richmond tightened up near the end of the first half, and Second Wind won lead jammer status on the last four jams of the half. But a quick and agile Burning River defense, led by Skank Williams, CoCo Sparx, and Professor Booty held Second Wind scoreless for the last eight minutes. Stroker Ace, Erin Gargiulo and Eva Lucien jammed most often for Burning River and scored the majority of their points. The Killustrator made the most of her limited jamming opportunities, and like a Kola-Loka-in-the-rough, opened her own hole more than once with a wicked head deke.

Deb Autry, a WCR rookie who surprised Chicago crowds early in the home season with impressive jams for the Hell's Belles, showed flashes of athleticism and derby smarts against stiff competition, and veteran Fury player Red Zeppelin flexed some muscle in the pack. Dee Monica registered two grand slams in the second half, sprung loose by Sargentina and Mo Vengeance. Eva Dead, a nationally prominent speed skater and long-time member of the Windy City All-Stars, sat out the Charm City game and jammed for Second Wind. Dead is deadly effective when using her fluid style to take advantage of precision blocking. On this night, however, although she did have a nine-point jam late in the second half, Burning River blockers threw up a wall she could rarely penetrate.

While Burning River won decisively and the outcome was never in question, there is no doubt that the game was a valuable learning experience for Second Wind, who seemed to visibly improve as the game unfolded and was outscored just 37-30 in the second half.