The Midwest were dominant in their Women's National All-Star Championship final, defeating the Mid-Atlantic 48-8 in a tough, physical game that ended up in a rout.

The Thunderbirds led only 5-3 through 30 minutes of the game, thanks to a Lauran Hanks try and a penalty kick for MARFU by Rachel Primo. But paced by an MVP performance from lock forward Stacey Bridges and superb work directing the attack from captain Christy Ringgenberg, the Midwest struck late in the first half to take control of the game.

A solid platform from the forwards allowed wing Kayla Finn to score at 33 minutes, and then just before the halftime whistle, prop Sarah Chobot's try twisted the knife a little more. Ringgenberg converted that last try to make it 17-3 at the break.

Mid-Atlantic rebounded well, though, and wing Amanda Street's try made it 17-8 ten minutes into the second half.

But after that Midwest seemed to be playing downhill. Their forwards got stronger and the Mid-Atlantic forwards just could not secure ball. Wing Katie Johnson, a product of the Minnesota youth system, scored three excellent tries, helped by her teammates but also finished by her own athleticism and ability to read space. Eagles Ringgenberg and Lynelle Kugler added to the tally, as the Midwest ran away with it.


In the Tier 1 3rd/4th game, the Northeast stays in Tier 1 with a 26-14 defeat of Southern California. SoCal is relegated to Tier 2, to be replaced by the Pacific Coast.

The Northeast took a 14-0 lead into halftime, and added to it when Amy Daniels scored seven minutes into the second period. Emily Jones hit the conversion to make it 21-0. 

SoCal battled back and scored twice in the final ten minutes. Pushing for that last try to tie it, they instead gave up a try to sub Ashley Clancy to put the game firmly in Northeast's pocket.