North Carolina State University Athletics
Johnson, Perez Named to Lieberman Award Watch List
10/25/2021 1:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Annual award honors the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – An incredibly deep and well-balanced NC State women's basketball squad is represented by a pair of players on the watch list for the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award. Diamond Johnson and Raina Perez are two of 20 preseason candidates for the annual honor that recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I basketball.
NC State joins Mississippi State as the only schools to have two candidates on the preseason watch list for this award. Both players were semifinalists for the Lieberman Award in 2020-21.
Perez enters her second season with the Wolfpack after electing to use her extra year of eligibility for 2021-22. The Goodyear, Ariz., native is coming off an incredible 2020-21 campaign during which she fully embraced her role as the floor general for NC State's squad. She averaged 9.5 points, 47.3 percent shooting (86-of-182) and 4.7 assists on her way to All-ACC Honorable Mention honors and a spot as a Top 10 finalist for last year's Lieberman Award.
Perez finished last season leading the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.62), with that number ranking 14th nationally. She tied the single-game program record for assists with 13 in the Pack's road game at UNC, one of 12 games in which she dished out at least five assists. Perez also scored in double figures on 12 occasions last season, and she most notably hit the game-winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left in the 2021 ACC Tournament title game.
Johnson joins the Wolfpack for the 2021-22 campaign after spending her freshman year at Rutgers. While with the Scarlet Knights, she was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten and the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She averaged 17.6 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals during her rookie campaign and compiled impressive shooting percentages of 51.2 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from three-point range and 90.2 percent from the charity stripe.
A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Johnson joined Perez on the national Top 10 list for the Lieberman Award this past February. She scored in double figures in 17 games in 2020-21, with seven of those outings marking 20+ point performances. Johnson's three-point percentage ranked seventh in the nation at the conclusion of last season.
Wolfpack fans are encouraged to participate in this year's Fan Voting during each of the three rounds. In mid-February, the watch list will be narrowed down to 10 players. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. Details for the presentation of this year's Nancy Lieberman Award winner will be announced at a later date.
For more information about the award and to vote beginning Oct. 29, visit HoopHallAwards.com.
#GoPack | @PackWomensBball
