WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University head women's basketball coach Kyle Cooper has brought down the curtain on his 2022-23 recruiting class with the signing of Sonia Sarda, a graduate transfer from NCAA Division II Seton Hill (Pa.).
     A native of Granollers, Spain, the 5-6 Sarda brings an impressive resume to the hilltop. She was the starting point guard for the regionally-ranked Griffins as they posted a 21-win season last winter. Before transferring to SHU in 2020, Sarda was a double-figure scorer and All-Conference point guard at NCAA Division II Southern Nazarene (Kan.) University.
     "We're really excited to wrap up this recruiting class with the addition of Sonia," Cooper said. "She will bring a veteran presence and a proven ability to impact not only at our level but specifically in our region. Sonia is a true combo guard who can play on or off the ball offensively. We believe she can truly thrive in our up-tempo style of play where she will be surrounded by other play-makers at all times."
     Sarda comes to the hilltop off a strong senior campaign at Seton Hill. She averaged 8.0 points, 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds a game for the Griffins, who rose as high as No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings and were receiving national Top 25 votes during the 2021-22 season.
     She had 11 double-figure scoring games, highlighted by a season-high 19-point, 6-assist night in a late-season win at Edinboro that clinched the No. 3 seed in the PSAC Tournament for Seton Hill.
     Sarda played in 48 games during her first two collegiate seasons at Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Kan. She was an All-Conference selection as a sophomore starter, hitting double-figures 16 times to rank second on the team with an 11.2 ppg. scoring average while leading the Storm in assists and steals. Her 4.9 assists/game ranked No. 2 in the GAC that season.
     The veteran point guard rounds out an impressive crop of newcomers for Coach Cooper and the Hilltoppers as they look to build on the foundation from last year's 21-win season. She will be joining Duquesne transfer Natalija Sekulovska and a quartet of impressive freshmen – Olivia Baker, Bailey Beckstedt, Gracie Lyon and Halley Smith – on the ASRC hardwood in the fall.
     "From the moment we started recruiting Sonia, it was obvious to us that she was a true competitor whose desire to win a championship in her last season of college basketball paralleled the vision and passion our staff and players are carrying every day," Cooper said. "There's no doubt she will impact this program in a positive manner on and off the court and we can't wait to get her here in August."
     The daughter of Joan and Majose Sarda, the newest Hilltopper graduated from Seton Hill earlier this year with a bachelor's degree in Biology and is currently working toward her MBA at West Liberty.