Former Portland standout Sharon Rissmiller has been selected as the new head women's coach at Pacific, athletic director Ken Schumann announced Friday.

Rissmiller is the ninth head coach in program history. She replaces Jeff Thompson, who resigned in March after four years leading the Boxers' program. Rissmiller comes to Pacific after three seasons as the head women's basketball coach at Tacoma (Wash.) Community College.

"In a short time, Sharon has succeeded in building a highly competitive program at the junior college level," Schumann said. "We think that she has the tools to turn our program at Pacific into a contender in the Northwest Conference, just as she did at Tacoma Community College. I am very excited to have her joining our team."

Rissmiller spent three seasons as head coach at Tacoma CC, successfully rebuilding the program from cellar dwellers to contenders. 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 tournament. In addition to her coaching duties, Rissmiller served as an academic advisor to the college's health professions programs.

"I'm very excited, not only to be at Pacific but also in the Northwest Conference," Rissmiller said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity that Ken has given me."

Prior to her stint at Tacoma CC, 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.

Rissmiller sees a lot of potential in a Pacific team that finished 8-17 in 2006-07 and placed ninth in the conference. "I see this program as being a top-three team in the league every year," Rissmiller said. "The location of the school, the great college town, the beautiful campus and the variety of majors is different than any other school in this conference, and that will help draw good players. I want our worst seasons to be third place seasons."

A talented Division I player, Rissmiller 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, 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, 28, graduated from Portland in 2001 with a degree in organizational communication.