Not just because she knew how much work niece Erin Smyth had put in to get there, but also because she was the third-generation Smyth woman to win the cup - Mrs Anderson (nee Smyth) and her mother before that had also been a part of National Hockey League K Cup winning teams.
Mrs Anderson played for Eastern Southland when it won in 1979 and her mother, Valerie Smyth, played in the winning Otago team in 1951.
Miss Smyth, formerly of Alexandra but now living in Christchurch, plays for the Canterbury Cats, who, in an undefeated season, beat defending host Auckland 3-1 last weekend to win the national championship.
She said it was really special to win the cup "especially because Grandma was my first coach".
She started playing when she was only 5 years old and described growing up with the sport. With her siblings and cousins, she would stage mini competitions and world cups.
Her grandma had coached her when she played for the St Gerard's Primary School team.
She had also coached Mrs Anderson, who, in turn, had coached Miss Smyth when she played for Dunstan High School.
Miss Smyth now coaches the sport at Christchurch's Cobham Intermediate School, where she teaches an accelerated learning class.
Winning the K Cup and coaching is not where the similarities between the three Smyth women end, though - they all played similar positions when their teams took the national title.
Mrs Anderson played left half, Mrs Smyth played centre half and Miss Smyth played right half.
Asked if there was a secret to the family's hockey success, Mrs Anderson said she thought it was "just in the blood and if you have something like that, then you want to be the best".
She said they were also a very close family and "the hockey thing" had been a "real bond with Mum, me and the girls".
Mrs Anderson is a life member of the Central Otago Hockey Association.
Mrs Smyth, who was also a life member, died in 2007.
