Deanna Richard enters her 12th season as the Mercyhurst University women’s basketball head coach.
Richard has compiled 126 wins with the Lakers and has finished with double-digit victories in a season seventimes. The Lakers established back-to-back winning records in the PSAC in 2015-16 and 2016-17 for the first time under Richard.
The 2016-17 season was one for the record books for the Lakers' program as Richard led the team to a 24-8 overall record and secured the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1994-95. Richard reached a personal milestone by earning her 100th win as Mercyhurst's head coach on December 7 against Ursuline. The Lakers' 24 overall wins and 17 wins in conference mark the highest totals for the Lakers' program since Richard took over in 2007-08.
Richard came to Mercyhurst after serving as the head coach at Olivet College for six years. In addition to her years at Olivet, Richard worked as an assistant coach at a pair of GLIAC schools - Wayne State and Ferris State. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Oakland University, playing basketball for the school from 1992-96. As well, she earned her master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State in 2001.
At Olivet, Richard built a program that had not seen much success historically. The program averaged just four wins per season in the nine years prior to her arrival, but the 2001-02 squad, her first season at the helm, went 7-17. The program steadily improved, building to a 13-14 record in 2005-06 with an 8-8 record in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). In her final year, the program reached .500 for the first time in her tenure, going 12-12 and setting a school record by finishing 9-7 in the MIAA. It marked just the third time in 29 years of Olivet women’s basketball that the team finished .500 or better. In her six seasons, she had a combined record of 61-92 and 30-60 in the MIAA.
Richard played at Oakland from 1992-96 when the school was part of the GLIAC. She led her team to three straight NCAA appearances, a Great Lakes Regional Championship, and a trip to the Elite Eight in 1994-95. Mercyhurst made the Elite Eight in ‘94-’95 as well. During her senior year, Richard ranked fourth in the nation in three-point field-goals made and was named GLIAC Player of the Year, finishing her career with 1,333 career points. She was inducted into the Oakland University Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor on April 21, 2007.
After graduating from Oakland, Richard played one year of professional basketball in Portugal for Clube Desportivo de Povoa. She helped her team to a conference championship, averaging 27.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while shooting 58.2 percent from the floor.
All-Time Record (17 seasons): 187-272
Record at Mercyhurst (11 seasons): 126-180
