Despite a facial injury that forced her to miss most of the final day of a four-game tournament in San Diego, Wisconsin guard Jolene Anderson made the final roster for the USA women's U-19 national team that will compete in the 2005 World Championship Tournament July 15-24 in Tunisia.
After Anderson and 14 other finalists won all four games to capture the gold medal at the International Sports Invitational in San Diego, three players were sent home as the world championship roster slimmed to 12. Anderson played just four minutes in the final game before suffering an injury that required an emergency root canal. The UW star was rushed to a dentist as her teammates battled for the 12 coveted roster spots.
Though her tournament was cut short, Anderson did enough during the first three days to survive the final cut.
"All 15 of us went to one room and then they called out three of them and they talked to them separately," Anderson said. "When I wasn't one of the three, I knew I was in."
Anderson will travel to Tunisia with temporary teeth thanks to her emergency root canal. She will not get her permanent set until after the world championship tournament, but the medical staff has cleared her to play.
"I'm good to go," Anderson said.
Anderson will rejoin her new teammates June 28 for a training session in Colorado Springs, Co. before traveling to Washington, D.C. July 3 for three days of training at American University. Team USA will then have five more days of training and a pair of exhibition games against the Hungarian U-19 squad in Budapest, Hungary before the world championships kick off in Tunis, Tunisia July 15.
"I really want Jolene just to savor the moment," Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. "This is a special opportunity. Enjoy the moment, every bit of it."
Stone, who served as an assistant coach for the US U-19 national team that won gold at the 2002 World Championships Qualifying Tournament in Brazil, has given her standout guard a few pointers about the international experience. Among other things, Stone encouraged Anderson — who has never traveled farther than Hawaii — to keep a diary while overseas.
"Jolene will have stories for all of us when she returns, and hopefully a gold medal hanging around her neck as well," Stone said.
Stone still remembers her medal ceremony in Brazil, an experience that is now within reach for Anderson.
"When you stand on the medal stand…and you watch the flag go up and they do the national anthem, it is an amazing feeling," Stone said. "It's not the Olympics, it's the U-19 national championships, but there's nothing that feels like that. It's an experience I'll never forget."
A strong showing in Tunisia could also serve as the gateway to a future tryout for the Olympic team, Stone said.
"Once your foot's in the door, and Jolene can do what she can do — abide by the rules, toe the line, compete, battle — they remember that," Stone said. "You want to wear those colors to the best of your abilities, go perform well this summer, be invited again next summer and I would fathom to say that Jolene's goal in life is to play for a gold medal in the Olympic team…There's no guarantees with anything in life, but she's put herself in a tremendous situation at this point."
Anderson, who some believed would not be able to handle the limelight of Big Ten basketball coming out of the small town of Port Wing, Wis., now has a legitimate shot to one day play in the Olympic Games.
"In the Olympics, when Dawn Staley played and Lisa Leslie, I watched every game that came on TV," Anderson said. "Hopefully I'll be in the same shoes they are."
