Raina Perez (born July 30, 1998) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach, who is an assistant coach for the UC Riverside Highlanders women's basketball team. She played college basketball at NC State, Cal State Fullerton, and Northern Arizona.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 30, 1998 Goodyear, Arizona, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Millennium (Goodyear, Arizona) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2022–2022 |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| 2022 | Seattle Storm |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
College career
editNorthern Arizona
editDuring her freshman season, Perez was one of four players on the team to appear in every game. She averaged 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. At the end of the year, Perez was the top scoring freshman in the conference.[1]
Following her freshman season, Perez decided to transfer to Cal State Fullerton.[2]
Cal State Fullerton
editPerez spent three years at Cal State Fullerton. She redshirted during the 2017–2018 season due to NCAA Transfer rules. During the 2018–2019 season, Perez was named to the All-Big West Honorable Mention Team.[3] She tied for the team lead in scoring at 13.0 points, while also adding in 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
During her junior season, Perez was a dominant player for the Titans. She increased her averages to 19.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.[4] Her play was recognized by the Big West, as she was named the Big West Player of the Year and to the Big West First Team. She was the first Titan player to win the Player of the Year Award since the 1990–91 season.[5]
After the season, Perez transferred to NC State.[6]
NC State
editDuring her first season as a member of the Wolfpack, Perez was named to the All-ACC Honorable Mention Team.[7] She averaged 9.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, while starting in 23 of the games. She was also a Top 10 Finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the nation's best point guard.[8] She hit the game-winning shot in the ACC Tournament Final to help NC State win their second straight ACC Title.[9]
Perez came back for an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped guide the Wolfpack to the NCAA Elite Eight. She averaged 8.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.1 steals, while starting all 36 games. Perez also once again was clutch in late-game situations - this time in the NCAA Tournament. Perez got a steal and layup with 14 seconds left against Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen to put NC State up in the last seconds.[10]
College statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Northern Arizona | 29 | 290 | .369 | .286 | .857 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 10.0 |
| 2018–19 | Cal State Fullerton | 29 | 377 | .421 | .317 | .806 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| 2019–20 | Cal State Fullerton | 31 | 610 | .462 | .350 | .820 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 19.7 |
| 2020–21 | NC State | 25 | 237 | .473 | .353 | .820 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 9.5 |
| 2021–22 | NC State | 36 | 311 | .441 | .386 | .917 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 8.6 |
| Career | 150 | 1825 | .434 | .335 | .829 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 12.2 |
Professional career
editSeattle Storm
editPerez went undrafted in the 2022 WNBA draft, but signed a training camp contract with the Seattle Storm.[12] She was waived on May 2, 2022, during camp.[13] Perez was brought back on May 11, 2022, as a hardship contract with the Storm.[14]
WNBA career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Seattle | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
References
edit- ^ "Raina Perez". nauathletics.com. NAU Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Robin, Brian. "After losing 2 key players, Cal State Fullerton's Harada rebuilds". The Orange County Register. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "2018-2019 Big West Women's Basketball Honors" (PDF). Big West Conference. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Raina Perez". fullertontitans.com. CSFullerton Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Raina Perez is Big West Player of the Year, Taylor Turney and Carolyn Gill are Honored". fullertontitans.com. CSFullerton Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Scott, Dana. "Former Millennium standout Raina Perez transfers to NC State from Cal State Fullerton". azcentral.com. AZ Central. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces 2021 Award Winners". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Raina Perez Named One of 10 Finalists for Lieberman Award". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Raina Perez's late jumper leads NC State past Louisville for ACC women's hoops title". ESPN.co. ESPN. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Negley, Cassandra. "'Everybody Loves Raina': No. 1 NC State squeaks by No. 5 Notre Dame with late steal to reach Elite Eight". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Raina Perez Stats". ESPN. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Perez Accepts Training Camp Invite from WNBA's Seattle Storm". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "ROSTER UPDATE: Storm waives guard Raina Perez and center Elissa Cunane". Twitter. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Perez signs with Seattle". si.com. SI. Retrieved May 12, 2022.