Few athletes out there embody the phrase, “Let your game do the talking,” better than Sonia Citron.
The four-year Notre Dame women’s basketball guard was always a player of few words and many talents. The stat page will tell you she started 32 games and averaged 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 37.2% from deep and 89% from the free-throw line. But it always felt as if Citron meant even more, especially when the Irish needed her most.
The two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in New York arrived at Notre Dame with big expectations and delivered, becoming the program’s second consecutive ACC Freshman of the Year in 2022. She broke out on an early-December Thursday night at Michigan State, willing the Irish to victory with an astounding 29 points off the bench. Citron would repeat that performance at the perfect time, ringing up 25 points as Notre Dame rolled past Oklahoma on the road in the NCAA Tournament’s Second Round.
Citron’s effectiveness only intensified as a sophomore, leading her to a spot on the All-ACC First Team. With Notre Dame needing a win in Louisville to clinch an ACC regular season championship on that regular season’s final day, Citron delivered an epic performance. After All-American Olivia Miles went down with a torn ACL, the usual wing guard shifted to play the point and put the Irish on her back. 27 Citron points later, they were conference champions.
“This was all God – and Sonia Citron,” head coach Niele Ivey summarized after the emotional win.
Citron came alive in the big moments yet again as a junior in 2023-24, finishing as an All-ACC Second Team selection. In six postseason games – one of which brought Notre Dame an ACC Tournament crown – she averaged 20.7 points.
Playing among one of the nation’s strongest backcourts this past year only made Citron better, especially on the defensive end of the floor. She returned to the All-ACC First Team, thriving in some of the nation’s toughest defensive assignments. Citron’s magnum opus in that regard took place on Nov. 23, when she drew USC superstar JuJu Watkins and held her to a 10-for-25 shooting day with no three-pointers made.
“Everyone knows Soni for her offense, but now you guys know Soni for how great of a defender she is,” Ivey said after the Irish defeated the third-ranked Trojans.
“Soni is just the silent assassin,” Ivey added later in the season after Citron tallied 22 points at Pittsburgh. “She always puts in the work. She does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet … She's so unselfish, and she's just a kind of a glue player for us.”
Now, everyone knows about the disappointing finish Notre Dame women’s basketball endured in 2024-25. Seemingly destined to achieve either an outright ACC regular season or postseason title – if not both – the Irish wound up with neither, losing four of their final eight games after a 24-2 start. With a national championship-caliber roster, they bowed out in the Sweet 16 for a fourth consecutive year.
Nevertheless, the last time Notre Dame was in prime form – ranked No. 1 and unbeaten in ACC play during a marquee matchup with NC State – Citron hit the shot of the season. With the Irish down three in the final seconds of regulation, she launched a game-tying triple as time expired, in the moment, saving the No. 1 ranking and perfect in-conference record.
Citron wrapped up her college career with 1,774 points and 714 rebounds in 124 games played, 107 of them starts. She’s the only player in Notre Dame history with 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists.
“I wanted to leave the program better than I found it, and Coach Ivey believed in us [seniors], and we believed in her,” Citron said after the Sweet 16 game against TCU. “I think an important thing was just the people … I'm not even thinking about the game. I'm just thinking about the people that I've met here, the relationships that I've formed, the friendships that I've formed, and Notre Dame is such a special place.”
Now, it’s on to the next level for Citron. She’s headed to the nation’s capital to start her Women’s National Basketball Association career, as the Washington Mystics drafted her third overall on April 14. Citron played well in her preseason debut at Indiana, tallying 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and showing that her game can translate to the professional realm.
“I pride myself on being able to play both sides of the ball, and I think that definitely translates, so just being an offensive threat but also being a good defender, and I hope to keep growing in both those areas,” Citron described in her introductory presser. “And just my mentality – I think I'm a very dependable, steady person, and I'm gonna put the work in every day.”
When asked about her professional inspirations, Citron quickly pointed out the late-2010s Notre Dame superpower she fell in love with. Those Irish teams, which reached national championship games in 2018 and 2019, counted for five of the first 19 players taken in the 2019 WNBA Draft. Three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion Jackie Young went first overall, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale fifth, WNBA All-Rookie player Brianna Turner 11th, Jessica Shepard 16th and Marina Mabrey 19th.
“I got to watch them play and just grow in the league,” Citron recalled. “It was amazing to watch them grow, watch them play and think that maybe that someday could be me … It's just amazing to be here, and as for the viewership and the growth of women's basketball, I think it means everything to me – and I think I can I can talk for all players when I say that.”
With the Mystics in the midst of a rebuild after going 14-26 last season, expect Citron to leave a mark on her new team quickly. She joins an exciting young core featuring former USC star Kiki Iriafen and longtime ACC adversary Georgia Amoore, both of whom were also drafted in the first round by Washington.
“I'm really, really excited. I think it's an amazing opportunity,” Citron said. “It's somewhere where I can really try and make an impact and learn from the amazing players that are already there.”
Citron will make her official WNBA debut on Friday, May 16, as she looks to lead the Mystics to their second WNBA title and first since 2019.
