Peg Swadener moves to Willamette

After five years at Portland State, women’s basketball associate coach Peg Swadener is leaving the program to accept a head coaching position at Willamette University.

Swadener played a large role in the recent success of the Vikings, including a Big Sky tournament in 2010 and the Big Sky regular season championship in 2011. The associate coach worked with a number of athletes during her time as a Viking, but in her last two years she especially worked with the PSU frontcourt.

“She’s been with me since the beginning of the program,” head coach Sherri Murrell said. “She’s done an amazing job of helping me put a championship program together. When it came to recruiting, she definitely knew what type of player we needed. She did a great job in every aspect of helping this program win.”

Being a head coach has always been a goal for Swadener, but she will still miss everyone involved with women’s basketball and the PSU community.

“She’s obviously conflicted,” Murrell said. “Portland State has been a great place for her. She’s gotten very close to the players, and she did a great job with player relations. It’s hard, but it was time for her. It’s a perfect fit for her.”

Willamette is coming off a 1-23 season, with no wins in the Northwest Conference. Swadener wanted to stay in Oregon and be a part of a school that wasn’t Division I.

For the Vikings, the next step is finding someone to replace Swadener. The new coach will be vital in the success of the program next season, but it will be a challenge replacing the experience that Swadener brought to the team. Murrell and the assistant coaches will start the search within the next couple weeks, while preparing for next year.

“I’m all about fit,” Murrell said. “I am going to look for someone who is very energetic and has a good relationship with the players. And I’m going to look for someone who fits some weaknesses we have in our staff and fills those. I want someone who is hungry to go out there and continue our progress.”

The Vikings are coming off a 15-14 season, which is their fourth winning season in a row. The year ended in disappointment, however, as Portland State missed the postseason. PSU graduated three seniors, including Eryn Jones, who leaves with her name all over Viking records. Jones is seventh all time in scoring and tied the record for most games played at 127. Jones is also one of 15 Vikings to pass the 1,000-point mark.

Although Jones is leaving, the future looks bright for women’s basketball. The team, which was young last year, is now experienced. The Vikings lacked a big post presence last season, but they will have one this year with a transfer from Oregon State, Angela Misa, who stands 6 feet 1 inch tall. Misa had to sit out last season due to transfer regulations, but she will be ready to play as a junior in the 2012–13 season.

“Hopefully we don’t get picked first, because when we get picked first we don’t do well,” Murrell said, laughing. “Having a year under their belt is going to be really good. We had a lot of players playing for the first time in our program. I think it’s going to be a great year.”