SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — After a pair of standout seasons as a freshman and sophomore, Sonia Citron has the attention of the national pundits. On Tuesday, the junior was one of 20 student-athletes named to the 2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fun and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The honor goes to the nation’s best shooting guard.
Citron was part of an elite Irish backcourt last season and became an even more critical player once Dara Mabrey and Olivia Miles went down with injury in January and February, respectively. Ultimately, the New York native led Notre Dame with 14.7 points per game, a .476 mark from the floor and a .400 success rate from deep. On March 3, Citron became the first Irish player since Arike Ogunbowale to post back-to-back games with at least 25 points.
A usual wing, Citron picked up a number of valuable skills after running the point for the Irish during the postseason. When all was said and done, she played 33.5 minutes per game, which ranks second all-time amongst Irish sophomores (Jackie Young, 2017-28).
Citron was named to the All-ACC First Team and was AP All-America and WBCA Coaches All-America Honorable Mention.
Since its inception in 2018, no Irish player has won the Meyers Drysdale Award. South Carolina’s Zia Cooke is the most recent winner.
About Ann Meyers Drysdale:
Ann Meyers Drysdale’s career escalated women’s basketball to a new level. She was the first high school player to make the United States national team and the first woman to receive a full four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA. Her high-octane approach translated into wins and awards, and she finished her impressive career at UCLA, owning 12 of 13 school records, including becoming the first player to record a quadruple-double in UCLA history. A supremely talented all-around player with natural basketball ability and instincts, Meyers Drysdale was the first player, male or female, named to an All-America team in four straight seasons and was named Player of the Year during her senior year. While still at UCLA, she started on the first women’s Olympic team in 1976. After an All-America career, she became the first player drafted into the Women’s Basketball League, earning WBL MVP and making history by becoming the first female player to try out with an NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, with whom she signed a free-agent contract. Meyers Drysdale pushed the envelope in women’s basketball, bringing a feel and sense for the game that few players ever exhibited. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2007, she was the first American woman to be inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2012, Meyers Drysdale became one of the first annual honorees on the women’s side of the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) with the organization’s National Women’s Player of the Year. Since retiring from professional play, she has had a very successful career as an NBA and WNBA executive, as well as a color commentator for the NBA, WNBA, and the Olympic Games in 1984, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2005, she received the ASAMA Ronald Reagan Media Award, and in 2019, she was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of womens’ and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981 or call 1-770-279-8027.
About the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo “Court of Dreams.” Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit hoophall.com, follow @hoophall or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.