From 1986-87 Media Guide...
| THE PIERSON RECORD |
| PITKIN HIGH SCHOOL |
| YEAR |
WON |
LOST |
PCT. |
| 1977-78 |
31 |
11 |
.738 |
| NORTHWESTERN STATE |
| YEAR |
WON |
LOST |
PCT. |
| 1978-79 |
12 |
15 |
.444 |
| 1979-80 |
19 |
17 |
..528 |
| 1980-81 |
22 |
8 |
.733 |
| 1981-82 |
18 |
7 |
.720 |
| 1982-83 |
16 |
9 |
.640 |
| 1983-84 |
15 |
11 |
.577 |
| 1984-85 |
20 |
6 |
.769 |
| 1985-86 |
25 |
7 |
.781 |
| 8 Years |
147 |
80 |
.648 |
It's been said that the true test of character is how a person reacts to adversity. By that standard, Pat Pierson passes with flying colors.
At a glance at the career record posted by Pierson as the Lady Demons head coach reveals seven straight winning seasons; three 20-victory campaigns; two conference championships; and eight-year winning percentage of .648, and, of course, last yea's runner-up finish in the National Women's Invitational Tournament.
The 1985-86 season was, in many ways, the most rewarding of Pierson's eight years in command of the Northwestern program. The 25-7 final ledger included wins over Kansas, Florida, Northeast Louisiana, Creighton, Tennessee Tech and Duke. It featured an eight-game winning streak, one of 17 new school records established during the landmark season. Her offense scored 87.5 points per game to rank (fifth) nationally for the second straight year in point production.
And on, and on, and on ... suffice to say that a highlight film of last year's Lady Demon basketball season would be incomplete unless it was along enough for theatrical release.
But as wonderful as it was, the landmark season conversely was probably the most demanding, difficult and challenging year Pierson's been through as a coach. It was a year which began brimming with promise but the sunny outlook soon was changed to thoroughly overcast and threatening.
The unexpected losses of NSU's top two scorers and rebounders (one in preseason, the other just five games into the schedule) could have been a mortal blow. So, too, could have been two upset losses in the Nevada-Reno Lady Pack Classic, a tournament won by the Lady Demons for three years running.
But Pierson, who may thrive on adversity, turned the negatives into big positives. Losing the top two rebounders forced NSU to rely more on its outside game an pressure defense - the factors which keyed the stunning victory over Northeast as well as NSU's NWIT surge.
In a year that saw LSU and Louisiana tech reached the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament; when Northeast lost only to eventual national champ Texas (twice) and NSU; when Louisiana College reached the NAIA semifinals and was top-rated nationally, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association chose Pierson for its "Coach of the Year" award.
It was the second time in her career that Pierson had been tabbed as the state's "Coach of the Year" in the college ranks. Ironically, the previous honor came in 1982, when two key players were lost for the season but NSU posted an 18-7 mark and reached the state AIAW finals.
She's seemingly made a career out of laughing at adversity. Pierson is proof that tough times don't last, and tough people do.
Times were never tougher than in her second season at the NSU helm. As a 23-year-old college head coach, her first year ended with a 12-15 record. Earl in her second season came an eight-game losing streak and the prognosis was bleak.
Pierson, however, rallied her young team and posted a 19-win record that included three second or third-place finishes in tournament play. That's when a youthful coach and her developing program turned the corner.
The next season, 1980-81, produced a sparkling 22-8 record which was at the time the most victories in school history. Northwestern won 12 of its final 15 games, losing only to Stephen F. Austin in the regional AIAW tournament on the Ladyjacks' home court along with two losses to eventual national champion Louisiana Tech.
The outlook was bright for the 1981-82 campaign before the personnel losses. Still, Pierson guided the team to the state AIAW finals before New Orleans derailed the Lady Demons, who were stung by a snub from the AIAW regional committee. The previous season, NSU had earned a regional invitational as a state semifinalist, but UNO was the only state school offered a spot in the 1982 regionals.
The 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons, marking the transition from the AIAW to NCAA jurisdiction, were champaigns of change for the Lady Demon program, too. Pierson was able to keep the winning streak alive while picking up 31 victories. Those years laid the foundation for NSU's most successful back-to-back seasons to date.
The Lady Demons started running and never stopped int he 1984-85 season, compiling a 20-6 recorded that included a spotless 10-0 slate in the Gulf Star Conference. NSU had the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense keyed by an aggressive defense in a season with the slogan "Going for the Steal.'
Pierson stole away the conference "Coach of the Year" award and had her program earned votes in the Associated Press Top 20 poll for the first time.
Her first "Coach of the Year" honor came in her first year as a coach after she graduated from Northwestern in 1977 with honors, earning a bachelor's degree in home economics with a 3.85 grade point average.
She returned to her hometown of Pitkin and succeeded her old high school coach. It was an instant success story. Taking a team not expected to win the district title, Pierson fashioned a 31-11 record that carried Pitkin to a berth in the state Class B championship game.
For that showing, she was named the Class B "Coach of the Year" and won the sam honor at the district level.
At that time, Northwestern was in the market for a new women's coach. It seemed a gamble to hire a 23-year-old with just one year of coaching experience, and that year at a small rural high school program.
Contrary to what the Lady Demons have learned at the gaming tables in their annual excursion to Reno, not all gambles are foolish.
Pierson began her association with Northwestern as a Lady Demon basketball player. She became the first female athlete ever awarded an athletic scholarship to NSU.
Her career actually started in junior high, when seh was good enough to earn a starting spot on the Pitkin varsity. She was all-district in the eighth grade for the first of five straight league honors. She won the district's Most Valuable Player award as a junior and senior.
Pierson was all-state in her last two seasons at Pitkin and was class valedictorian. She came to NSU, where she was a three-year starter as a guard and twice led the team in assists. Her senior season was cut short by emergency heart surgery.
The 31-year-old Pierson was the first woman inducted into the Graduate N Club Hall of Fame in ceremonies during 1984's Homecoming celebration.
Married to local bank executive Joe Pierson, perhaps the most vocal Lady Demon backer, she has a son, Joshua Nolen, who was born on the morning of last year's season opener against Southern Arkansas. The couple also has a step-daughter, Alicia Anne.
Pierson enjoys reading Danielle Steele novels, tennis, golf, and racquetball.
