Deanna Richard is in her second season as the Mercyhurst College women's basketball head coach. After spending her first season for Mercyhurst in the GLIAC, Coach Richard and the Lakers will start a new era in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in 2008-09.

In her first year at the helm, Coach Richard compiled an overall record of 7-20 and was 2-15 in conference play. The team quickly became one of the most dominate three point shooting teams in the league, ranking fourth in three-pointers in the GLIAC. She also coached Amy Achesinski to Freshman of the Year and GLIAC All-South All-Conference team honors.

Richard came to Mercyhurst after serving as the head coach at Olivet College for the past six years. Although she has spent the past six years at NCAA Division III 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.

Her squads have used the three-point shot as a weapon, ranking in the Division III top 25 in three-pointers made per game in each of the past five seasons. The 2006-07 team also ranked 39th in field-goal percentage. At Mercyhurst, Richard will look to continue a rebuilding process begun by former coach Karin Nicholls, who won just 22 games in three seasons, finishing 6-21 a year ago. The squad had a 10-41 record in GLIAC games during her tenure. In all, Mercyhurst has not had a winning season since the 1999-00 team went 15-12. The Lakers do have a tradition of success, however, posting three 20-win seasons, including a school-record mark of 24-6 in 1994-95.

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. 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.