« Women’s Basketball 2015-16

Janelle Perez

School
Northwestern State University
Position
Guard
Major
Health and Exercise Science

Classroom

Janelle Perez maintains a 3.657 grade-point average in health and exercise science and is a two-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Spring Honor Roll. Perez was named first-team Academic All-Southland Conference in 2014-15 and was a member of the 2013-14 Academic All-Southland Conference team.

Character

Perez was so lightly recruited out of Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas, that she had no other Division I scholarship offers other than to Northwestern State. Standing at 5-foot-2, Perez routinely faces defenders who are much taller than she is, yet she has started 98 consecutive games since arriving on campus three years ago. A tireless worker, Perez has been a lead-by-example point guard who has molded herself into a first-team, all-conference player and a 1,000-point career scorer. Perez has overcome her naturally shy personality to become an effective communicator with both her teammates and the media.

Community

Perez has been a presence in the community in both her hometown of El Paso, Texas, and in Natchitoches. She welcomed visitors and served food at the Women’s Resource Gala in Natchitoches. She also has volunteered during the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend, welcoming banquet guests and helping clean up after the event. She has taken time to become involved with the Boys and Girls Club, volunteering her time to mentor and play games with kids in the programs, and in Operation Christmas Child, which helps provide Christmas presents for those in need. While in El Paso this summer, Perez spoke to third, fourth and fifth graders at Ituarte Elementary School where her mother teaches about her experiences as a college student-athlete. She will be doing her internship with the Boys and Girls Club, as well.

Competition

Perez has started all 98 games since her arrival at NSU, helping deliver the first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. A first-team All-Southland Conference selection as a junior, Perez became the 26th member of NSU’s 1,000-point club and averaged a career-best 15.1 points per game. In each season, Perez has maintained an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 1.0 and has decreased her overall turnovers in each of her first three seasons. Perez finished the 2014-15 season as the 26th most accurate active free-throw shooter in Division I (81.2 percent, minimum 250 made FT). Perez was the 2012-13 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and a third-team All-Southland Conference selection. In 2013-14, she was an honorable mention All-Southland Conference performer. She has been named to the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team each of the last two seasons, as well.