Starting at a loss

Sherri Murrell was officially welcomed as the new Portland State women’s basketball coach on July 9, replacing recently departed Charity Elliott. The coaching turnover resulted in the loss of four players from last season’s team, including freshmen Janie Bos and Stephisha Walton, sophomore Jenni Ritter and junior Kerstin Brosterhous.

Since her hiring, Murrell has been extremely busy recruiting to rebuild a team that looked championship ready before the four players left the program.

“I came in towards the end of all the, you could call it, exodus, but I know we lost a few real talented players,” Murrell said.

The loss of Brosterhous and Walton, though quality reserves, will not affect the Vikings’ roster as much as the loss of Ritter and Bos, who could hurt the team’s chances of making a deep postseason push this year.

Bos, a 6-foot-1-inch center, appeared on her way to a stellar career at PSU. During 16 conference games last season, the freshman averaged 11.5 points, seven rebounds and shot 44.4 percent from the field.

Arriving with an impressive offensive skill set, Bos was the Vikings’ second leading scorer against conference opponents. She has a solid under-the-basket game as well as a consistent mid-range jump shot. Elliott opted not to start Bos last year because of a lack of defensive presence in the paint and effort in boxing out opponents for rebounds. Barring any persuasive magic from Murrell, Bos intends to transfer at the beginning of next term.

“We will miss Janie a lot,” said Claire Faucher, Big Sky co-Freshman of the Year and starting point guard. “I absolutely love that girl to death and I am sad to see her go. She was a big part of our team last year, but (as a team) we have talked a lot about wanting players that wanted to be here at Portland State. If you don’t want to be here, then you should go where you want to be.”

Shooting guard Jenni Ritter, because of personal reasons, chose to leave at the conclusion of this past season. She will be transferring to Masters College in California, a Division II school.

The quick, solid shooting guard averaged 7.7 points per game and was fifth in the Big Sky for steals, averaging 1.83 per game. She was also the team’s best three-point shooter, shooting 31 percent and leading the Vikings in three-point field goals and attempts.

Since assuming the role of head coach, Murrell has been busy assembling a skeleton view of her team. Immediately following her introductory press conference, she was on the road to watch the summer tournaments in search of potential recruits.

“I’m very excited to get the opportunity to comeback to Portland State,” Murrell said. “Portland is my home. I told Torre [Chisholm] that I’m looking forward to winning championships here. That’s first on my agenda.”

Murrell is still undecided on her starting five, and currently has only two of those five positions solidified.

“I know Claire [Faucher] is the point guard and Kelsey [Kahle] is a hell of a forward, but until I get into the gym with them I have no idea who else will be in that five,” the new coach said.

Murrell comes fresh off a five-year stint as head coach at Washington State University, where she compiled a 27-114 record. She also was a head coach at George Fox University for three years and then at the University of the Pacific for four years. Before head coaching, Murrell held an assistant position at Portland State. In her two years with the Vikings, the team went a combined 22-30.

“I am excited about playing for coach Murrell. She recruited me when I was looking at going to Washington State,” said Faucher. “She will be an awesome addition to our basketball program.”

Chisholm, PSU’s athletic director, had some very specific characteristics in mind when choosing the new coach.

“We wanted someone with head coaching experience, recruiting ties to the Northwest and a person that could be a great mentor,” Chisholm said. “We definitely found all those qualities when we hired Sherri, and it’s great to have someone that is already familiar with Portland State.”