By Chris Tramontozzi, News Correspondent

When looking at a team, sometimes it is best to look past the previous record and dig deeper to see where a team is headed.
Last season the women’s basketball team finished sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with a record of 12-19 overall and an 8-10 record in the CAA. This year the team looks to make it past the CAA quarterfinals, in which they lost to James Madison last year. The Huskies have been to the CAA quarterfinals three out of the last four years.
Although they are picked by the league coaches to finish 10th of 12 this season, they will try to surprise the CAA again. Head coach Daynia La-Force Mann, entering her fourth season as head coach at Northeastern, said the low expectations can be a good thing.
‘Every year we surprise the CAA ‘hellip; you’re picked last so you don’t have any pressure on you, and you go out there and compete,’ La-Force Mann said.
Two key loses for this Huskies are that of leading scorer Jasmine Crew, who averaged 13.9 points per game last year but transferred to Seton Hall, and the leadership of Ashlee Feldman, who finished her four years of eligibility.
La-Force Mann said she will seek to replace Crew and Feldman with some returning players and some newcomers.
‘We’re looking for some points production from [sophomore guard] Kashaia Cannon, and some from [sophomore guard] Jamie Conroy and also from the freshman class we recruited.’
The Huskies bring back 11 returning players, five of which are guards, including sophomore Brittany Wilson who last year was named to the CAA All-Rookie team. She averaged 8.6 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game last season.
This team is deep at the forward position, returning players such as tri-captain Kendra Walton along with the team’s returning leading scorer Kim Carr, a senior tri-captain who averaged 10.6 points per game.
Carr said she hopes to get better at paying attention to the whole court and getting her teammates involved.
‘I need to improve upon my court vision,’ Carr said. ‘Seeing my teammates when I’m double-or triple-teamed [will] cut down on the turnovers I had last year.’
Walton, joined by Carr and junior guard Tiffany Crews as tri-captains, said she understands her role as captain.
‘You have to be an extension of the coach,’ Walton said. ‘Even when I’m doing bad, I need to keep my head up and be a leader on the court.’
The Huskies bring in three new freshman recruits:’ Guard Deana Kerkhof, forward Rachel Pecota, and guard Afreyea Tolbert.
‘Every year seniors graduate,’ La-Force Mann said. ‘Every year you have to replenish and replace and I think we’ve done a very good job doing that ‘hellip; All three of them are going to make a good impact this year.’
The most highly touted recruit is Pecota. She is ranked by ESPN as the 25th-best wing in the country and was a nominee for the McDonalds All-American team, an honor given to the top high school basketball players in the country. Pecota is expected to step in right away and contribute to this team.
‘She’s a great all-around player,’ La-Force Mann said of Pecota. ‘She’s a good three-point shooter, she can get to the basket well, and she can defend in the post.’
The Huskies open their season with an early test at defending national champion and unanimous top pick Connecticut in Hartford Nov. 14.
‘They’re a team, they’re just like us, they sweat just like us,’ Carr said. ‘We have as good a chance against them as anyone else. Its just another game.’
The home opener is Nov. 21 against Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m. in Matthews Arena.