After an historic 2012-13 campaign and 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors, Daynia La-Force, head coach of women’s basketball at Northeastern, has agreed to a three-year contract extension running through the 2015-16 season.
"I am truly honored to remain a part of the Husky family," La-Force said. "The confidence and support I have received from [athletics director] Peter Roby has allowed me to patiently build a program based on developing quality student-athletes committed to representing the university in a positive way, both on and off the court."
This past season was the most successful of La-Force’s seven-year run on Huntington Avenue. The Huskies finished 17-13 on the year, signifying their highest win total since the 1999-2000 season, six years prior to La-Force’s arrival. NU also finished 10-8 in CAA play, garnering a fifth place league finish, its highest since joining the conference. With a league-leading nine-win turnaround from 2011-12, La-Force became the second coach in Northeastern history to earn Coach of the Year, and the first since Joy Malchodi won her third and final award in 1992-93.
"I am excited about the future of our women’s basketball program and the significant progress made under Daynia’s leadership,” Roby said. “I am so appreciative of all Daynia has done for our student-athletes, our department, and our university, and look forward to continuing our work together to build a great program."
La-Force has found success by implementing a highly effective dribble-drive offense, which has vaulted Northeastern into the national rankings. The Huskies finished in the top-15 nationally each of the past two seasons in both 3-pointers made and 3-point field goal percentage, and this year also cracked the top-100 in points per game and field goal percentage.
During her time in Boston, La-Force has compiled a 76-136 record, guiding the Huskies in seven of their eight years in the CAA. Northeastern has reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament four times during her reign, and held the fourth seed in the tournament this year, its highest ever.
La-Force has mentored nine all-conference performers in the ultra-competitive league, including three this season. Her charges have also seen success in the classroom, none moreso than Deanna Kerkhof, who was named to the CAA All-Academic first team three consecutive years and received All-District first team academic honors this year.
"Winning has always been important but winning the right way with quality student-athletes, dedicated assistant coaches and a supportive administration was the ultimate goal. With this goal now achieved, I look forward to continuing to build the program into a national contender," La-Force added.
Prior to her time in Boston, La-Force spent one season as the head coach at Division-II New Haven, where she led the Chargers to a 24-7 record and DII NCAA Tournament berth. She has also previously served as an assistant coach at St. John’s and Long Island, following a sterling playing career at Georgetown, where she helped lead the Hoyas to the 1993 Big East title and a Sweet 16 appearance.
