Wolfpack Women Land Grad Transfer Point Guard

NC State basketball coach Wes Moore filled the void left by the graduation of point guard Aislinn Konig by landing graduate transfer Raina Perez from Cal State Fullerton

NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore, during a Zoom conference with members of the media last week, implied that he might be waiting on the decision of a graduate transfer point guard to help fill the void left by graduated star Aislinn Konig.

Wednesday, his wait ended when Raina Perez, the 2020 Big West Player of the Year at Cal State Fullerton, committed to play her final season of eligibility with the Wolfpack.

She was ranked as the fifth-best available player on the women's graduate transfer market. She is eligible to play immediately for the Wolfpack.

"We're very excited to add such a prolific scorer as Raina Perez," Moore said in a statement announcing her signing.. "A combo guard, she can create her own shot while also keeping her teammates involved. With the recent graduation of three talented guards, Raina brings much-needed experience and scoring to the position."

Perez is a 5-foot-4 native of Goodyear, Ariz., who played her freshman year at Northern Arizona before playing the past two seasons at Fullerton. She averaged 19.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals last season while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from three-point range.

She's also durable, having averaged more than 37 minutes per game.

In addition to Perez, senior Kai Crutchfield and sophomore Kendal Moore will also be available to take care of the ballhandling duties for the Wolfpack in 2020-21. State has also signed incoming freshman Genesis Bryant, a four-star All-State point guard from Jonesboro, Ga.

"Last year we had Ace and Kayla Ealey, a senior experience wise and we had Kai Crutchfield. They could all handle the ball well and run the point," Moore said last week. "Now two out of those three are gone. So it’s going to have to be Kendal stepping up and doing those things. 

"We also have a freshman point guard in Genesis Bryant coming in. She was, I think, co-Player of the Year for her classification in Georgia. She’s a really heady player. It's still a big jump from high school to the ACC, so not sure how ready she's gonna be but we'll see. And then you've also got the transfer situation that's still to be determined. Obviously a graduate transfer can come in and play immediately. And so there is still a possibility of something like that happening."

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