Highlight package | Official CAA release

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Headlined by Daynia La-Force taking home Coach of the Year honors, four Huskies were honored by the Colonial Athletic Association at the women's basketball year-end banquet on Wednesday (March 13) night. Along with La-Force's nod, Deanna Kerkhof was named All-CAA second team and All-Academic first team, while Kashaia Cannon and Jewel Tunstull both took home All-CAA third team laurels.

The Coach of the Year award for La-Force is her first, and a first for any Northeastern coach since it joined the CAA prior to the 2005-06. She is just the second NU women's basketball coach to ever receive a Coach of the Year honor from a conference, after Joy Malchodi took home three such awards in 1985-86, '86-'87 and '92-'93.

"I am truly honored by this award," La-Force said. "There has been a great deal of patience and perseverance that went into improving this program. However, this recognition has come at the right time with the right players and the right staff who all have worked extremely hard."

La-Force, in her seventh year at the helm of the program, has overseen a nine-game improvement for the Huskies over last year's squad, the largest turnaround in the CAA. After finishing 8-22 last year, NU is 17-12 this year and has clinched the program's first winning season since 1999-2000. The 17 wins are tied for the most since 1998-99, when NU won a program-record 22 games and went to the NCAA Tournament.

In the CAA, La-Force pushed the Huskies to fifth place this season, NU's highest finish since joining the league. Northeastern jumped five spots to move up from 10th last year. As she has done in all but one year since coming to Boston, La-Force out-performed her preseason projection, as the Huskies were slated to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll.

Particularly strong this year were the Huskies at home, where NU played to the tune of an 11-3 record. The 11 home wins set a program record, and Northeastern also tied a record by reeling off seven consecutive home victories to open the regular season. The 10 conference wins the Red and Black tallied this year are the most in the Colonial era.

Implementing her variation of the dribble-drive offense, La-Force guided the Huskies to scoring 67.5 points a game this season, second in the CAA. With an emphasis on perimeter play, Northeastern finished first in the conference in both 3-pointers per game (8.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.4%), with both marks coming in at 12th nationally. The Huskies also led the CAA in steals, placing 45th nationally with 10.5 swipes a contest.

Supporting La-Force are her All-CAA performers; Cannon, Kerkhof and Tunstull. Kerkhof's second team honor comes after making the third team last season, while Cannon and Tunstull earn third team nods for their first career yearly awards. Kerkhof's All-Academic first team selection is her third consecutive, also making the team as a sophomore in 2010-11 and as a junior last season.

"Not only have they provided the points and rebounds which have helped us become a successful program, but they have also been our leaders and the ones who have displayed the most pride in NU basketball," La-Force said of her All-Conference performers.

NU's leading scorer, Kerkhof's 15.5 points a game are seventh in the CAA, and a new career-high for the Wallaceburg, Ontario native. She has led NU in scoring 13 times this year, posting 23 double-digit scoring games and scoring 20 or more six times. The senior guard also grabbed a career-high 5.4 rebounds a game this year, 19th in the CAA, and posted her first career double-double in the season opener at Eastern Michigan.

"Deanna has been working hard all season to become one of the premier players in the league," La-Force remarked. "She is deserving of all the awards and accolades she has received.  Her best achievement has been her leadership and the way she has instilled her winning attitude amongst her teammates."

One of the top 3-point shooters in the country, Kerkhof has knocked down 72 triples this year, and hits them at a 38.3 percent clip. Kerkhof's 2.8 3-pointers a game are 26th nationally, and her percentage is 32nd in the country. Since a three-game injury absence from Feb. 21-28, she is averaging 21.0 points a game, and was named CAA Player of the Week on March 11.

Also a marksman from distance, Cannon earns her third team nod after finishing 10th in the CAA with 13.6 points per game. This season the redshirt-senior guard set a Northeastern single-season record with 77 3-pointers, and posted the 18th-best percentage from deep in the country at 41.2 percent.

"Kashaia has been here through our toughest season and has been here for our best.  We were better this year because she was selfless and wanted to leave a legacy at Northeastern," La-Force said. "She sat out last year and remained an integral part of our preparation for this successful season."

The Providence, R.I. native has also scored in double figures 23 times this year, and has posted three 20-point games, including a career-high 27 on Jan. 17 at Georgia State. Cannon joined Kerkhof in taking home a CAA weekly honor this year, winning Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 6.

Rounding out the honors for the Huskies is junior center Jewel Tunstull, who led the CAA in field goal percentage for the second straight year, posting a 56.4 percentage from the floor, en route to finishing 13th in the conference with 12.6 points per game. The Brooklyn native was also fifth in the league in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and blocked shots (1.4 bpg).

"Jewel's maturity both on and off the court has been rewarded with this honor," La-Force added. "This season she has become a better player,  has become stronger mentally and now the last piece to her legacy is her leadership skills."

Tunstull posted a career-high 23 points on Jan. 13 at James Madison, and recorded five double-doubles this season. She has reached double figures in scoring 22 times, posted eight double-digit rebound games and has led the Huskies in rebounding on 21 occasions.

Northeastern begins postseason play on Friday, March 15 with a quarterfinal match-up in the CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Jani-King. The four seed Huskies will take on five seed Hofstra at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.