WASHINGTON, D.C. – The George Mason women's basketball team earned six postseason awards, including two major awards, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Graduate student Sonia Smith was tabbed as the Atlantic 10's Most Improved Player and was named to the Atlantic 10 First Team, marking the first First Team nod for Mason since 2019. Sophomore Zahirah Walton was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year while also earning a spot on the Atlantic 10 Third Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. The major awards mark the first since Nicole Cardaño-Hillary was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2019. Rounding out the honors is Kennedy Harris, who picked up an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie nod.
 
The trio of players are the first to earn All-Conference postseason honors in the same year since George Mason joined the Atlantic 10. It is also the first time since 2001 that three separate players have picked up postseason honors in the same season, when all-time greats Jen Surlus, Jen Derevjenik and Tish Wescott were awarded All-CAA postseason awards.
 
Harris and Kennedy are the first rookie duo to be placed on a conference All-Rookie team since Mason joined the Atlantic 10. It is also the first time in 30 years since multiple Patriots were named to the All-Rookie team when Candace Johnson-Hampton and Tracy Kirk were named to the CAA All-Rookie team in 1994. It also marks the second-straight year the Patriots placed a player on the All-Rookie team, as Nalani Kaysia earned the nod last season.
 
Sonia Smith's Most Improved Player award marks the first time a Patriot has earned the award from the Atlantic 10. Smith emerged as the Patriots' top offensive player this season, averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game and leading Mason in scoring all year. The point total is a career-high for Smith, and is an improvement of over 3.5 points per game last season. The guard out of Upper Marlboro, Md. also averaged 3.3 rebounds per game (+1.0 from 2022-23), 3.0 assists per game (+0.5 from 2022-23), shot 40.7% from the field (+4.4% from 2022-23) and shot 32.6% from three-point range (+5.9% from 2022-23). Smith set career-highs in field goals made, three-pointers made, total rebounds and total points in a season in 2023-24. 
 
Smith was also named to the Atlantic 10 First Team for her efforts. She scored in double-figures in all but four games this season and registered seven 20+ scoring performances, including a career-high 30 points at Duquesne. She ranked in the top-10 of the conference in scoring all year in both overall points per game (8^th, A-10) and points per game against conference opponents (8^th, A-10). She is shooting at a career-best .403 clip and leads the team with 43 three-point makes (21^st, A-10), also a career-best. Besides just scoring, Smith is second on the team in assists with 3.0 per game (13^th, A-10) and a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio (10^th, A-10). She has also tallied 33 steals and is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game, both good for top-five on the team.
 
Zahirah Walton becomes the fifth player in program history to be honored as the conference's Rookie of the Year, while marking just the second time a Patriot has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. The Seattle, Wash. native had one of the most well-rounded rookie seasons in recent history, finishing in the top three in several major categories among teammates and matching the program record for All-Rookie honors in a season with six. After missing all of last season due to injury, the forward returned at the top of her game and anchored a Mason bench which sat in the top-5 nationally for bench points per game throughout the entire 2023-24 season. She was the only Patriot with multiple double-doubles on the season, and leads the Patriots and all Atlantic 10 rookies with 5.7 rebounds (18^th, A-10) and 1.1 blocks per game (7^th, A-10). 
 
Walton also earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie and Third Team honors for her season-long performance. She is second on the team with 11.1 points (11.5 points against conference opponents, top-25 in A-10) and 1.4 steals per game (20^th, A-10). The rookie is also in the top-25 in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage (.766). Walton owns single game career-highs of 23 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, five blocks and 10 free throws. Her four double-doubles came in some of the biggest games this season, including against nationally ranked Maryland (18 pts., 14 rebs.) and in a win against first-place Richmond in late February (18 pts., 14 rebs.).
 
Kennedy Harris, a five-time Rookie of the Week, came off the bench as one of the team's top three-point shooters this season. She is second on the team with 41 makes on the season and is first among rookies and eighth overall in the Atlantic 10 in three-point percentage (.390). Her 1.6 three-point makes per game are also good for top-20 in the conference. She has consistently been in the top-5 of scoring on the team, averaging 9.4 points per game this season. She tallied double-figure scoring 11 times this season, including two 20-point performances. Harris scored a career-high 27 points against Dayton on a career-best-matching five three-pointers, the most points in a game by a Mason rookie since 2018. The guard out of Hampton, Va. also sits in the top-5 among the Patriots in steals, assists and rebounds. 
 
Smith, Walton, Harris and the rest of the Patriots earned the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship, giving them a double-bye into the Quarterfinals on Friday, March 8. The contest is set for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+ with an opponent to be determined.