Women's Basketball Coaching Staff
Sharon Rissmiller
Head
Women's Basketball Coach
srissmiller@pacificu.edu
Now in her third season leading the Pacific women’s basketball program, Sharon Rissmiller has succeeded in returning the Boxers to the upper echelon of Northwest Conference programs.
In her first two years as head coach, Rissmiller has led a dramatic turnaround in the success of the program. After a 4-20 record in her first year, Rissmiller coached the very young Boxers to 11 wins and a third place finish in the Northwest Conference standings. The Boxers also earned their first appearance in the conference’s postseason tournament since 1996.
In the process, Rissmiller saw two of her charges selected to All-Northwest Conference honors. Guard Rochelle Reeves-Howe earned first team honors, the Boxers’ first selection since 2006. Freshman forward Julianne Erbe was named to the honorable mention team.
The turnaround is not a surprise as Rissmiller engineered a tremendous turnaround in her three years as head coach at Tacoma (Wash.) Community College. During her tenure, the Titans went from a 1-19 record in her first year to an 18-11 mark during the 2006-07 season, finishing third in the NWAACC’s West Region and earning a spot in the NWAACC Playoff Tournament. Rissmiller had two of her players this season selected to the NWAACC All-West Region Team.
In addition to her coaching duties at Tacoma Community College, Rissmiller served as an academic advisor to the college’s health professions programs.
Prior to her stint in Tacoma, Rissmiller spent one season as the head women’s basketball coach at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., and one season as the head junior varsity coach at Beaverton’s Sunset High School. She also spent one season coaching Team Concept, a traveling team consisting of WNBA and overseas professionals.
A talented Division I player, Rissmiller played four years for Jim Sollars at the University of Portland. She is one of 17 Pilots to have scored 1,000 points or more and averaged 9.4 points per game over the course of her career. Rissmiller was a First Team All-West Coast Conference selection in 2001 and was named the Pilots’ Most Valuable Player after averaging 13.6 points per game. She was an Honorable Mention All-WCC selection in 2000 after averaging 14.9 points per game.
A native of Tigard, Rissmiller was a four-year starter at Tigard High School, where she holds the school’s career scoring record and led the Tigers to a fourth place state tournament finish. She was named to the 4A All-State Team as a senior and was the Metro League Player of the Year her junior and senior seasons.
Rissmiller, 30, graduated from Portland in 2001 with a degree in organizational communication.
Tara Podpah
Assistant
Women's Basketball Coach
Tara Podpah is in her second season as an assistant coach for the Pacific women's basketball program, bringing with her immense basketball experience at all levels of the collegiate game.
Prior to coming to Pacific, Podpah spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. While with the Raiders, Podpah helped lead the team to an 18-11 record in 2006-07 and a berth in the Cascade Conference postseason tournament.
Podpah was a three-year standout post for NCAA Division II New Mexico Highlands University, where she was a three-time All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection. She averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds during her season and led the team to the RMAC West Division championship in 2005. That same year, Podpah was selected as an RMAC All-Academic Team.
Prior to her career at New Mexico Highlands, Podpah spent one season at Division I Idaho State, playing in 10 games while under a full scholarship.
A prep standout at Aloha High School, Podpah was the 2000-01 Gatorade Oregon High School Player of the Year after leading Class 4A with 21.5 points per game. She was named Metro League Player of the Year in 2001 and was named to the All-Metro League team three times.
Podpah graduated from New Mexico Highlands in 2005 with a degree in human performance with a emphasis in exercise science and a minor in business management. When not coaching, the Beaverton native is employed as a personal trainer at Bally's Total Fitness.