Coaches often comment that Rose Ross has “the clutch gene.” 

In fourth grade, Ross made a game-winning shot in what would be the start of her scoring dominance. Years later, in the Sweet 16 match against Buena Vista this season, Ross made a series of free throws to secure a 38-34 win for Colorado Springs Christian School to advance to the Great 8.  

That’s just what she does. 

“When the pressure comes, she rises,” Jim Ross, her father, said. “The higher the pressure, the better she does.”

Ross hates losing. In fact, when the Lions play against weaker teams, it irritates her. She wants to play good teams and beat them. 

“She’s always had this drive,” Jim Ross said. “She and her coach both have this internal burning passion to win. She has won almost everything she does athletically. Whatever it was, she has this competitive drive, and it’s why she is as good as she is.” 

That drive was apparent this season, when she led CSCS to a 21-5 record and a Great 8 appearance while scoring 1,000 career points before her junior year was over. Ross was a large part of the team’s success this year, leading the Lions in points per game (19.3) and field goal percentage (38%). 

“She is an amazing scorer,” CSCS girls basketball coach Mark Engesser said. “You look at her sometimes, and she looks exhausted because she plays so hard, and I love that about her. I probably should give her more rest, but I just feel like I can’t ever take her out because she is so important to our team, handling the ball and scoring, and being everywhere on defense. You watch her sprinting everywhere, and it’s like, how is her heart not exploding?”

Falling short of her goal to win another state championship only fuels her to keep pushing. She has one more year, after all.  

“Losses do hurt, but at the end of the day, it’s so helpful in growing your team,” Ross said. “It helps me as a player because the second we lose a game, I watch the film on my drive home and study everything good and bad. I’m obsessed with watching film and it’s so helpful to me as a player because I don’t want to make the same mistake.” 

Ross, a three-year starter, knows what it feels like to be a champion. As a freshman, she experienced winning a state championship with CSCS and has been chasing that feeling since. 

After falling in the Final Four in Ross’ sophomore year, No. 3 CSCS had a poor shooting day and fell to No. 3 Yuma in the 2026 Great 8 round at the University of Denver. Ross was the most disappointed of anyone, according to Engesser. 

“It was a hard year because everything revolved around winning the state championship,” Jim Ross said. “Last year, she played out of her mind and still lost. She took that so hard. She took it hard again, but I saw her turn it into even more drive to play better.” 

Ross stepped up as a leader for the Lions as a sophomore, and did so again this year without starter Abigail Perry, who graduated in 2025 and broke the program’s rebounding record of 1,000 last season. So when Engesser made her an official captain during this season, she thrived. 

“Her competitive fire is so strong and powerful,” Engesser said. “She hates losing and wants to win so badly; it’s the main reason I made her a captain. Her best leadership quality is extreme competitiveness, and she displayed that.”

Ross has one more season to capture a second state championship, and she’s not taking it lightly. She will be training with her club team soon and is already back in the gym, perfecting her craft. 

The point guard is proud of her growth over the past three years, but the “clutch gene” is only part of the story. 

“I feel wiser from losing and winning a lot of games,” Ross said. “It has shaped me into the player I am today. I give 110% to show my teammates how dedicated I am to them. They need to know you have their back. I will do everything I can to help them succeed.”