Ursuline’s Sonia Citron Gains Attention On and Off Basketball Court

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Sonia Citron is drawing attention for her work on and off the basketball court.

Sonia, who will be a junior at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle, continues to receive college athletic scholarship offers after earning a spot on the all-tournament team for helping the United States win the 2019 International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) U16 Americas Championship in Chile.

“It was amazing just being able to play for my country and be teammates with a great group of players,” Sonia told CNY. “I’m just thankful for the experience.”

Oregon and Stanford, the top-two finishers in the Pac-12 for the 2018-2019 season, made scholarship offers after the tournament ended June 22.

Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, Texas and Michigan have also extended athletic scholarships. Harvard and Princeton, Ivy League schools that do not offer athletic scholarships, are also recruiting Sonia, who is ranked 17th overall and sixth among guards in the high school class of 2021 by ESPN.

In Chile, the 6-foot, 1-inch guard averaged 13.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.2 steals in 19.4 minutes per game for Team USA, which finished 6-0 and beat its opponents by wide margins. Team USA defeated Canada, 87-37, for the championship.

“We played so well together,” Sonia said. “We really connected. We’re like a family on and off the court. It made us all better players. We were all out there having fun.”

The tournament’s top four finishers qualified for the 2020 FIBA U17 World Cup in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Sonia said she’s planning to try out for a spot on the U17 roster.

Sonia helped Ursuline reach the Section 1 final this year, before losing to eventual state public high school champion Ossining. She’s scored more than 1,300 points in her varsity career and earned all-state honors the past three seasons from the New York State Sportswriters Association. She was a second-team all-state honoree in Class AA for 2019.

Off the basketball court, Sonia plays for Ursuline’s soccer team and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society with an academic average of nearly 96.

“Ursuline tries to encourage, empower and inspire young women. It has helped me in everything I do,” Sonia said.

Beth Wooters, the varsity basketball coach at Ursuline for 35 years, said Sonia strives for excellence.

“She’s a great young lady. She’s a genuine friend and teammate,” Ms. Wooters said. “It’s great to see these things happen for a player and person like Sonia. She’s a tremendous player and so humble.”

Eileen Davidson, president of The Ursuline School, is the moderator of Warm Hands, Warm Hearts at the school, which provides meals for 100 clients at a neighboring community soup kitchen.

“Sonia is one of the most consistent participants,” Ms. Davidson said. “Taking turns as chef or shopper, Sonia can be counted on to contribute and to contribute with joy.”