FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University women's basketball head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis has announced the addition of Sacred Heart transfer Sonia Smith for the 2022-23 season.
 
Smith, a 5-foot-7 guard, will bring a wealth of experience to Mason's backcourt. She appeared in 69 games in three seasons with the Pioneers.
 
"We are so excited to have Sonia back home in the DMV," said Blair-Lewis. "She will bring veteran leadership and experience. She is a floor general who will make everyone around her better because of her passing ability and high basketball IQ. She is a three-level scorer who is tough to defend. Her love and passion for the game shows every time she steps on the floor."

Smith was selected to Third Team All-NEC in 2021-22. She went from averaging 7.6 points per game the previous season to leading Sacred Heart with 13.0 points per game. She led the Pioneers in scoring 10 times and notched four 20+ point performances, including a career-high 24 at Saint Francis on Feb. 26.
 
She also led the Pioneers with 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, which both ranked fourth in the NEC. She posted a career-high 11 assists to go along with 15 points for her first career double-double against Saint Francis on Jan. 23. She was named NEC Player of the Week twice in 2021-22. 
 
As a sophomore, she averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 16 points and handed out seven assists at LIU (Dec. 15), followed by a season-high six rebounds against the Sharks the following day (Dec. 16).
 
Smith was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team in 2019-20. She played in all 29 games, starting 11 times and averaging 21 minutes a game. She averaged 7.2 points per game during the regular season, shooting 37.8 percent from the field. She registered nine double-digit scoring performances during her rookie campaign. 
 
The native of Upper Marlboro, Md., led a prestigious National Christian Academy to a 25-win season in 2018-19. She put up a career-high 41 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists to push her over the 1,000-point mark for her high school career. 
 
She averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game in her senior season and was nominated for the 2018-19 McDonald's All-American Game. 
 
Smith joins Mason's incoming class that features incoming freshmen Nekhu Mitchell (Owings Mills, Md.) and ZaZa Walton (Seattle, Wash.).