Murrell Named Vikings' New Women's Basketball Coach

Murrell replaces Charity Elliott, who resigned after three seasons to take the head coaching position at UC San Diego.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland State has announced the hiring of Sherri Murrell as the Vikings’ new head women’s basketball coach.

Murrell, a native of Redmond, Ore., was most recently the head coach at Washington State and was an assistant coach at Portland State from 1996-1998.

Murrell, 39, replaces Charity Elliott, who resigned after three seasons to take the head coaching position at UC San Diego.

In addition to her tenure at Washington State, Murrell served as head coach at George Fox University, in Newberg, Ore., and the University of the Pacific, in Stockton, Calif.

She posted seven straight winning seasons with the Bruins and Tigers and earned two conference coach of the year honors at George Fox.

“Portland State is very fortunate to attract a head coach of Sherri’s experience and accomplishment,” Chisholm said. “She will be a tremendous asset to the University and will help develop a championship-caliber women’s basketball program. We are happy to welcome Sherri back to Portland.”

“The opportunity to return home and coach at such a quality institution was an easy decision for me,” Murrell said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my two years at PSU and I’m excited to bring my successes, connections and enthusiasm back. I appreciate Torre Chisholm’s efforts and I’m ready to bring championship success to the court and in the classroom.”

In five seasons at the helm of the Cougars, from 2003-2007, Murrell coached 18 players who garnered academic honors and seven All-Pacific 10 Conference performers on the court.

Her 2006 recruiting class at Washington State ranked 39th in the nation by Blue Star Basketball.

At Pacific, from 1998-2003, her four consecutive winning campaigns marked the first time the Tigers had posted four straight winning campaigns since 1993-1996.

Inheriting a program that had posted back-to-back 9-18 campaigns, her first Pacific team went 14-13, including a 10-5 record in the Big West Conference, in 1998-1999.

Her final Tiger team posted the program’s highest win total since 1995, registering a 19-11 mark in 2002-03 before departing for Washington State.

At George Fox, then an NAIA school, Murrell compiled a three-year ledger of 52-33 and guided the Bruins to three straight NAIA Tournament appearances.

She earned back-to-back Cascade Conference Coach of the Year honors following the 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 seasons.

During the 1994-95 campaign, George Fox entered the NAIA top 25 rankings for the first time in school history.

In between her posts at George Fox and Pacific, Murrell was an assistant coach at Portland State for two seasons under Jenny Yopp from 1996-1998.

Those two years marked the Vikings’ first two seasons at the NCAA Division I level and a member of the Big Sky Conference.

While at Portland State, Murrell was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, helping construct a team that would advance to the 1999 Big Sky Tournament Championship Game

Murrell also served one year as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, 1990-1991, BYU, 1991-1992 and George Fox, 1992-1993.

A native of Redmond, Ore., Murrell prepped at Portland’s St. Mary’s Academy.

She was a member of the Blues’ 1985 Oregon 4A state title team. She then went on to play at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, playing two seasons before transferring to Pepperdine.

As a member of the Waves, she earned All-West Coast Conference honors as a point guard during the 1989-1990 season.

Murrell graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in public relations in 1991.

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