| Raina Perez | |
| League: | WNBA |
| Position: | Guard |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 4 |
| Birth Date: | 30 July 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Goodyear, Arizona, U.S. |
| High School: | Millennium (Goodyear, Arizona) |
| College: |
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| Draft League: | WNBA |
| Draft Year: | 2022 |
| Career Start: | 2022 |
| Team1: | Seattle Storm |
| Highlights: |
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| Career End: | 2022 |
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.
During 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]
Perez 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]
During 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]
| 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 |
Perez 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]
|-| align="left" | 2022| align="left" | Seattle| 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0|-| align="left" | Career| align="left" | 1 year, 1 team| 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0