University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

Former UCO Star Makes Olympic Team

7/11/2012 12:45:00 PM

Rose Anderson

EDMOND (July 11) – Former Central Oklahoma basketball standout Rose Anderson will compete in the London Olympic Games that start later this month as a member of the Great Britain team.

The Scotland native played two seasons for the Bronchos from 2008-10 and is the first former UCO basketball player to make an Olympic team.

Anderson, currently playing at Cardiff Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, was one of 12 players named to the Great Britain squad that will make its first-ever appearance in the Olympics.

Team GB will compete in one group with Australia, Brazil, Russia and two qualifiers, with the top four teams advancing to the quarterfinals. Great Britain opens the Olympics against Australia on July 28.

"It feels pretty amazing to be selected,” Anderson told the East Lothian Courier. “People always say that when they were growing up they hoped for something like that, but for basketball that just wasn't realistic.

"It wasn't a situation where one day I wanted to be in the Olympics; I wanted to play for Scotland, then I wanted to play for Great Britain. But to have this opportunity now leaves me lost for words and is just amazing.”

Anderson's selection for the Olympics is the end of a long journey that started at Portobello High School in Edinburg, Scotland, where she took up the sport.

She played on several junior national teams for Scotland and was captain of the Under-20 Great Britain team before coming to the United States.

Anderson played two years at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid before coming to UCO, where she helped lead the Bronchos to 49 wins and back-to-back NCAA Division II national tournament berths in two seasons with the Bronchos.

Anderson averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds a game in 2008-09 as UCO won a school-record 27 games (27-6) in making it to the Sweet 16. She netted 9.5 points, 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds a contest while shooting 52.7 percent from the field as a senior in 2009-10 when the Bronchos finished 22-8.

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