Pfeifer Will Lead Eastern Assistant Secures Interim Job As Replacement For Vanderveer

Jocelyn Pfeifer, an assistant women’s basketball coach at Eastern Washington for the past four seasons, was named interim coach of the Eagles Thursday.

Pfeifer, a 1985 graduate of Post Falls High School, will fill the void left by Heidi VanDerveer, who resigned Wednesday to become an assistant coach with the Sacramento Monarchs of the Women’s NBA.

Athletic director Dick Zornes said Pfeifer will hold the position for at least the 1997-98 season.

A former point guard on the North Idaho College and Boise State University teams, Pfeifer served one year as assistant to former coach Bill Smithpeters and the past three under VanDerveer. Pfeifer inherits a team that finished 5-21 last year, 2-14 in the Big Sky Conference.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Pfeifer said.

Pfeifer, 29, said she plans to instill an up-tempo style.

“I’d like to get the defense going … put a lot of pressure on and do the best I can with the people I have,” she said.

Eastern returns eight players from last year, including first-team All-Big Sky Conference guard Tanya Kirk of Central Valley High School and NIC.

Her team also will include three players who have signed letters of intent: Karrie Waddell of Lakeside High School and California junior college transfers Courtney Horner and Jaime Haworth. All three are point guards, the position held by graduating senior Jennifer Sutter.

Pfeifer is no stranger to the point guard position. She ran the floor at NIC from 1985-87, earning first-team Region 18 honors as a sophomore when she led the Cardinals to the NJCAA national tournament. She was named to the Region 18 all-tournament team both years.

Pfeifer also played two seasons at Boise State, where she earned second-team All-Big Sky Conference honors as a senior. She received a bachelor’s degree in finance from BSU in 1990. Pfeifer spent the 1990-91 basketball season as an assistant at Post Falls High.

VanDerveer’s other assistant, Karen Middleton, has not decided whether she will stay at Eastern or seek another coaching job. Hiring of other assistants will be determined after her decision.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo