Laurel Golio for The New York Times
ALBANY — Lauren Mullen pulled her black hat low over her eyes, paid $10 for a ticket and entered Sefcu Arena just before tip-off recently. She sat in Section 150. There were 18 rows between her and any other fans. She trained her focus on the two head coaches.
On the visiting bench sat the University of Massachusetts, Lowell coach, Tom Garrick, a former N.B.A. player. Last spring, Mullen, then the women’s basketball coach at New York University, interviewed for the position that Garrick now holds. It was the third time in four years that she had been a finalist for a Division I head-coaching job.