Sonia Citron was begged to shoot in college — now she's the WNBA's clutch-points leader

As Sonia Citron entered the fourth quarter of her first WNBA postseason game, she flipped a switch. The All-Star guard brought the ball up, directed traffic and called for screens to switch her matchup, knifing to the paint on a last-ditch comeback run. That aggression is exactly who the Washington Mystics have come to rely on.

Citron is the 2026 league leader in clutch points and Washington's go-to perimeter scorer, already a two-time All-Star in only her second season. Even in Sunday's 92-77 Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Dream, she poured in 25 points — tied for the sixth-most ever in a playoff debut. Her teammate Kiki Iriafen sums it up in two words: "a silent assassin."

The smooth transition from college to the pros makes it easy to forget how unlikely this all felt a few seasons ago. At Notre Dame, the coaching staff literally had to beg Citron to shoot. She finished her college career hitting 37 percent from three, but she was deferential by nature, happy to hand control to backcourt stars like Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo.

Playing in the WNBA wasn't even on her radar for her first three years in South Bend. "It was when I started hearing mock drafts, oh, you're supposed to go first round," Citron recalled, "and I'm like, what is going on? That is definitely not something I ever thought."

The Chicago trip that changed everything

Then-assistant Michaela Mabrey took Citron to a Chicago Sky game during the 2024 season to watch her younger sister Marina play. It wasn't optional — Mabrey had decided. "I want you to believe it. I already know you can, but I need you to know that you can," Mabrey told her on the drive up.

On the ride back, Citron said the words she'd never said before: she could see herself in the WNBA. Mabrey later explained that watching the game and picturing herself in it "just all changed for her. She knew it. She had the confidence that she could play."

Washington saw it too. The Mystics bet that Citron's game would outperform her college numbers, and the defensive three-seconds rule opened space for her to attack downhill off pin downs and wide screens. She's since taken on more point-guard duties with two rookies on the roster, working with player development coach Clinton Crouch on a twitchier handle.

"In order to succeed in this league, you need opportunity, and you need a staff, an organization that believes in you," Citron said. "From the beginning, D.C. just instilled so much confidence and belief in me."