Nike Girls Basketball Camp University of Portland

The WCC title, which included a win over No. 11 Gonzaga in the semifinals, gave the Pilots their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1997. Unfortunately, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019-20 was full of milestones as Meek led the team to a 21-11 overall record, good for fourth in the WCC after the coaches picked the Pilots to finish 10th in the league’s annual preseason poll. It’s the first 20-win for the program since 1996-97, and the 11-7 mark in the WCC gave Portland their most conference wins since that same 96-97 season.

Other achievements in 2019-20 include:
• The fourth-place finish is the highest in conference since 2010-11 (4th).
• The Portland faithful flooded to the Chiles Center to support the Pilots, and the season featured two of the biggest crowds in program history.
• The 1,772 that came to the game vs. San Francisco on Feb. 15 was the fifth biggest crowd ever, and the contest with Gonzaga on Feb. 29 featured the sixth largest crowd at 1,709.
• The Pilots began the season 4-0 for only the third time ever in program history, and it was the first time since 2010-11.
• Portland’s five-game winning streak from Jan. 11 to Jan. 25 was their longest since 2009-10.
• The Pilots swept the regular season series vs. Saint Mary’s for the first time since 2008-09.
• On Jan. 4, the Pilots won 57-48 at BYU, ending a 20-game losing streak to the Cougars; it was the first win for Portland over BYU since the 1998-99 season.
• The wins at USF and SCU (Jan 16-18) marked the first WCC weekend road sweep for the Pilots since 2009-10 (also at USF & SCU).

Following the historic regular season, the Pilots made a magical run through the WCC Tournament, defeating Pacific in the quarterfinals, Gonzaga in the semi’s, and San Diego in the Championship game. Haylee Andrews hit the game winner with just 3.8 seconds left against the Zags, and the victory was the Pilots first in the series since defeating Gonzaga in 2009 in Spokane, a stretch of 23 straight Bulldog wins. It was also the first win over a ranked opponent since topping the No. 24 San Diego Toreros at the Chiles Center in 2014.

In the years since the historic 2019-20 season, the Pilots have continued their rise through the WCC. Portland finished above .500 in 2020-21 at 14-13. It was the first time the Pilots put together back-to-back seasons finishing above .500 since the 2010-11 season. The Pilots also played postseason basketball for the first time since 2010, qualifying for the Women’s Basketball Invitational.

At the WBI, the Pilots earned their first playoff win as a Division I program when they defeated the Abilene Christian Wildcats 67-42. The Pilots followed that up with a historic 80-65 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, a game that saw Alex Fowler become the fastest Pilot to 1,000 points and Maddie Muhlheim become the all-time leader in three-pointers made. Muhlheim hit six threes, leading the Pilots in points with 22 while Fowler scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Pilots advanced all the way to the final against the Cleveland State Vikings, ultimately losing 67-64 in a tightly contested championship game.

The following year, the Pilots put together an impressive 20-11 record to finish fourth in the WCC, their third straight top-five finish in the conference. It was just the fifth 20-win season for the Pilots as a Division I program.

For the third season in a row, Portland qualified for postseason play, earning an invite to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2009. They earned their first win ever in the WNIT and their first ever home playoff win with a 72-63 win over the Colorado State Rams. The Pilots advanced to the second round of the tournament, ultimately falling to the Oregon State Beavers.

With a career collegiate coaching record of 285-70 (.803), Meek ranks 10th in career winning percentage among active Division I coaches with 10-plus years of experience.

Prior to Portland, Meek led the George Fox Bruins to remarkable results including NCAA Division III championship game appearances in 2012 and 2015. He guided George Fox to eight NCAA Tournament appearances – including the last six seasons – six Northwest Conference (NWC) championships, and his teams were ranked at the end of the year seven times.

He was named the D3hoops.com NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2012 and was three times named the NWC Coach of the Year, including in 2019. He coached four players to All-America recognition, while Hannah Munger also earned Academic All-America honors in 2012.

The Bruins have been a historical Division III power in women’s basketball and Meek was the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins. He succeeded current Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck at George Fox.

Before George Fox, Meek was head coach at Southridge High School (Beaverton, Ore.) for 10 seasons. He led Southridge to a record of 213-58 (.786) and five Oregon state titles over a six-year span between 2005 and 2010. Meek guided the Skyhawks to Oregon 4A titles in 2005 and 2006, the top classification at the time, and then to the Oregon 6A championships in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

He was named the 2006 MaxPreps.com National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year, four times earned Oregon Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010), and was league coach of the year six seasons. A total of 20 players went on to play college basketball from those rosters. Eleven student-athletes played at the Division I level, while all five starters on his 2006 squad signed with schools currently in the Pac-12.

Meek developed and hosted one of the top national high school basketball tournaments in the nation while at Southridge High School – the NIKE Northwest Girls Basketball Invitational (2006-10).

A Puyallup, Wash. native, Meek played basketball at Tacoma Community College and Eastern Oregon University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and health in 1999. He earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from Grand Canyon University in 2004.

Meek and his wife, Lisa, reside in Beaverton with their daughters McKelle and Audrey.

“We feel like we have made an incredible hire with Sharon,” Meek said. “Not only does she have head coaching experience of her own, but she also directly comes from an elite national level program at Oregon State. She will be instrumental in the development of our culture and growth at the University of Portland. Sharon is a University of Portland alum with a plethora of experiences that make her a fantastic addition, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our basketball family.”

“I am really excited about this opportunity to work with coach Meek,” said Rissmiller. “He is well respected, a wonderful person and a proven winner. As a former player, it is an honor to join in supporting his vision for the future of Pilots women’s basketball, and it’s also a dream come true to be back on The Bluff.”

In Corvallis, Rissmiller coordinated the team’s logistics for the past four years, helping the Beavers make an unprecedented run to the 2016 Final Four. Oregon State won three-straight Pac-12 titles from 2015-17, and they’ve made the Sweet 16 in four consecutive seasons.

Prior to joining the Beavers, Rissmiller spent seven seasons as the head coach of Pacific (Ore.), leading the team to back-to-back winning seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14. She also led the program to one of the best seasons in school history in 2008-09, when Pacific finished third in the Northwest Conference en route to its first appearance in the league’s postseason tournament since 1996.

During her time with the Boxers, Rissmiller coached six All-Northwest Conference players, including a pair of two-time honorees.

Before taking over at Pacific, Rissmiller spent three seasons as head coach of Tacoma Community College, heading up a substantial turnaround in the program as the team finished 18-11 in 2006-07 after going 1-19 in her first year with the squad. In her time at Tacoma, Rissmiller led the team to an NWAACC Playoff Tournament appearance and saw a pair of players selected to the NWAACC All-West Region Team.

Rissmiller also spent one season as the head women’s basketball coach at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., and she spent one season coaching Team Concept, a northwest AAU program.

Rissmiller starred on the court from the Pilots from 1997 to 2001, and she still ranks ninth all-time at Portland with a .770 career free throw percentage. She compiled 1,069 career points, she was named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team as a senior, and she earned league honorable mention accolades during her junior season. Rissmiller averaged 14.1 points and 5.5 rebounds during her senior campaign, and she was named the team’s MVP that same season. As a sophomore, she helped the Pilots reach the WNIT.

“I am thrilled to be adding Tom to the University of Portland coaching staff,” Meek said. “Tom and I have worked together for 18 years. He has proven himself as one of the best post coaches around by developing multiple All-Americans. He knows our system inside and out and can teach it at a high level, which makes Tom a perfect fit. He cares about the student-athlete experience, is a great person and a loyal coaching colleague, and I am elated to add him to our coaching staff.”

“I am very excited and thankful to join coach Meek’s staff and the entire UP Community,” said Batsell. “I look forward to working with the staff and team to move the Pilots women’s basketball program forward.”

With Batsell on staff since 2009, George Fox won six Northwest Conference (NWC) championships, and the Bruins were ranked at the end of the year seven times. He helped coach four players to All-America recognition, while Hannah Munger also earned Academic All-America honors in 2012.

Batsell was also an assistant coach with Meek at Southridge High School (Beaverton, Ore.) prior to their stint at George Fox. The Southridge girls’ varsity program won five Oregon state titles over a six-year span between 2005 and 2010. A total of 20 players went on to play college basketball from those rosters, with eleven student-athletes playing at the NCAA Division I level. All five starters on the 2006 squad signed with schools currently in the Pac-12.

Batsell was previously an assistant coach at Westview High School when they won the 2000 Oregon State Championship, and he had a stint as an assistant coach at Glencoe High School.

Batsell graduated from Pacific University in 1995, and he received a master’s in teaching from Pacific in 2001.