Karen Piers begins her first season with Sacramento State and will work primarily with the Hornet post players while also handling team travel and academics.
Piers, who played one season under Muscatell while he was an assistant at Oregon, brings one year of coaching experience to Sacramento State. The Truro, Nova Scotia, native spent the past year (2002-03) as an assistant at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro.
A three-year player at Oregon (1998-00), Piers appeared in 76 games, including 16 starts while playing behind All-Americans Natalie Hughes and Shaquala Williams. Piers helped lead the Ducks to back-to-back Pacific-10 titles in 1999 and 2000 while also reaching the NCAA Tournament all three years. For her senior season, she transferred to Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigosh, Nova Scotia, to pursue a major in kinetics. A team captain with the X-Men, Piers earned all-AUAA
honors after finishing fourth in the country in three-point shooting percentage (.450).
A member of the Dean�s List in 2001-02, Piers received her bachelor�s degree in kinetics with a minor in mathematics at Saint Francis Xavier in 2002.
Piers graduated from Cobequid Educational Centre (CEC) High School in Truro, Nova Scotia, accumulating more than 3,000 points in three years. She led the Cougars to a Nova Scotia High School Athletic Federation Division I title in 1997 after posting a 36-6 overall mark. The squad also made back-to-back appearances in the NSHSAF championship game from 1995-96. As a junior, Piers helped lead the Cougars to a perfect 40-0 record, becoming the first Nova Scotia high school to record an undefeated season. A two-time CEC and 1996 Truro Sport Heritage Society Female Athlete of the Year, Piers was named team captain at the Canada Games in the summer of 1997.
�Karen brings a tremendous amount to our program because she was a former player of mine who knows who I am, what I�m all about and how we want to get things done here,� Muscatell said. �She is one of those kids who has a great desire to be a coach and has a tremendous understanding of the game as a former point guard. Karen is a person of unbelievable character and has a great personality that will reflect well with our players. �
**Information from the Sacramento State Media Guide.