Portland State women’s basketball Head Coach Sherri Murrell has announce the hiring of Jennifer Mountain as an assistant coach. Mountain has recently served as the head coach at Santa Clara University.
"Hands down I’ve found the best person and coach for this program," Murrell said of hiring Mountain. "I have known Jennifer for a very long time and her character, class, and integrity is second to none. Her experienced background in coaching will help us immediately. She cares about the student-athlete’s growth both on and off the court and I can’t wait for her to help our players excel."
Mountain spent the past six years as the head coach of the Santa Clara Broncos. She has improved the team’s win-total in four of the last five years, while her student-athletes have garnered local, regional and national recognition stemming from their academic achievements and the program’s commitment to community service.
"I am really excited about joining this talented staff and becoming a part of a great future here at Portland State," Mountain said. "I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to come home, be close to my family and work with such great student-athletes. This is a great fit for me at this time in my life and I am really looking forward to this opportunity."
During her tenure at Santa Clara, she had three All-WCC Freshman Team selections, two All-WCC First Team selections, five WCC Honorable Mention selections, seven WCC All-Academic selections, and three 1,000-point scorers.
Prior to being hired as head coach at Santa Clara, Mountain served seven seasons as the top assistant coach at Gonzaga, where she helped the Bulldogs to four-straight West Coast Conference regular season championships and one WCC tournament crown.
While at Gonzaga, Mountain helped turn the Bulldogs from a 2-12 WCC record in 2001-02 to four-time regular-season champion. The Bulldogs compiled a 140-79 overall record and a league mark of 72-40 when Mountain rejoined the coaching staff. Gonzaga advanced to the NCAA Tournament once and twice advanced to the Women’s NIT, and in 2005 garnered the school’s first national ranking.
Mountain, a 1991 Gonzaga graduate, worked as an assistant under Julie Holt and helped recruit and coach many of the players that guided the Bulldogs to their first WNIT appearance in 1994.
From 1994-2001, Mountain served as the head boys’ basketball coach at Saint George’s School in Spokane, where they compiled a 134-62 overall record. In 1996 and 2001, Mountain coached the Dragons to a pair of Panorama League Tournament titles. In those two seasons, the Dragons were the Washington State Class B Tournament runners-up. In their only other State B Tournament appearance under Mountain, the Dragons finished seventh.
Mountain became a double alumna of Gonzaga in 1999 when she received a master’s degree in Athletic Administration. She also holds a bachelors degree in Physical Education and Health.
A native of Portland, Ore., Mountain scored 1,422 points in her Gonzaga career, including 465 points her senior season of 1990-91. She ranked in the top 10 in school history for career field goals made, 3-point field goals made, free throws made, assists and steals. She was also a three-time first-team All-West Coast Conference selection while earning honorable mention National Jesuit News Academic All-America team honors.
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