By Daryl Velez

Head coach Daynia LaForce Mann is entering her second year at the helm of Northeastern women’s basketball, and is no stranger to turning teams around.

She was part of a coaching staff at Long Island University that took its women’s basketball program from last place in 1995 to a conference championship in 2001. She also helped the St. John’s University’s squad to a 20-win season in 2004, and then won the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference’s award for coach of the year at the University of New Haven after the 2005-06 season.

The style of basketball that got her that far was by no means dull to watch either.

“[It is] an exciting brand of basketball that we play,” Mann said. “We’re not the type of team that’s going to walk it up and set up offenses and lull the crows to sleep. It’s going to be a lot of excitement, a lot of running, a lot of pushing up the ball, a lot of three-point shots, a lot of inside-out plays; just an exciting type of basketball that I don’t think was ever played here at Northeastern.”

This year, the team expanded its number of healthy players ready to start the season, from last year’s seven, to double that at 14.

Having not played an official game yet, it is unclear what lineups with the new recruits will be, but it is official that Mann is comfortable with her veterans, and the upperclassmen reciprocate comfort within their coach’s system.

“If you are in shape it is very easy to be comfortable with Coach Mann’s style of play,” said Ashlee Feldman, a junior guard, who is a perennial scoring threat. “Her style of offense is very fast paced