ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 7, 2021

Raina Perez

NC State Wolfpack

Postgame Press Conference

NC State 58, Louisville 56

Q. Raina, can you please take us through that last sequence? Seemed like you wanted to pass it. Can you take us through that sequence and what did it mean for you to hit the game winner like that?

RAINA PEREZ: Yeah, I was honestly looking for the pass. I hadn't made a shot all second half, so I think I was kind of more in my head. But then they doubled on 'Liss, and I was wide open. I had to take it, and what do you know, it went in.

Q. I know you've talked a couple times this season I think after the South Carolina game and the regular season game against Louisville that moments like this is why you came to NC State. Was that sort of another feeling of that today? How accomplished do you feel wearing that hat after everything you've been through the past year with transferring?

RAINA PEREZ: I'm just so thrilled to be here. I feel like I belong here, and I think I proved the point. I'm just so excited and grateful to be here, honestly.

Q. Third game in three days. You've played a lot of minutes. You often hear people talk about fatigue in these tournaments. When you get in those final minutes or final seconds, did you feel fatigued or are you really kind of riding on adrenaline?

RAINA PEREZ: I think at the beginning of the game you feel fatigued but then towards the end of the game it's all adrenaline. You don't feel anything. All you care about is winning the game.

Q. Earlier you said you had missed a few shots. I think we counted you missed six straight since the beginning of the second quarter, so you hadn't made a shot since midway through the first half. I know there's a lot of things going through your head in a moment, but did you have that pop into your head that you didn't have the shot going when you took the last one or do you forget about it?

RAINA PEREZ: I just forgot about it. I had my teammates keep telling me to, Just shoot it, just shoot; it it'll fall.

So yeah, that wasn't running through my mind at all.

Q. What does it mean for you, everything that 2020 and COVID brought, such a weird season and the cancellations and the postponements and just to get to this point, what does that mean for you?

RAINA PEREZ: It just means a lot. You can never take a game for granted and I'm just so happy and grateful to be here, and all the athletic training staff just got us here. Yeah, I'm just so grateful to be here.

Q. Coming into the season you had to replace a great point guard in Ais Konig. Did you feel any pressure at all this season, and how have you been able to adjust to stepping up and running the team in your first year?

RAINA PEREZ: No, I didn't feel any pressure. I just played my game and just tried to learn the offense. Yeah, not much pressure at all. I just played my own game, and I'm just -- yeah, that's it.

Q. You guys trailed by eight today in the fourth quarter. You trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter yesterday and have obviously had several comebacks this season. What is it about playing from behind that seems to make you guys kick it into another gear?

RAINA PEREZ: I think it's just keeping our heads and keeping our focus. We don't pay much -- obviously we know the score but we try not to pay much attention to it. We just try to focus on ourselves and do what we can.

Q. How important was it for you to lock in on the defensive end knowing that your shots weren't all going in?

RAINA PEREZ: It was super important just to try to show that I'm not just an offensive player, I can play defense, as well. I know in this league you have to be able to play defense, so it was just super important.

Louisville has great scorers, and I think that was the key tonight is just rebounding and playing really good defense.