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Sonia Lynn Chase was born to Theodore and Shirley Chase on March 9, 1976, in Baltimore, Maryland. Sonia attended Woodmoor Elementary School in Baltimore County. At the age of seven, Sonia's parents let her play in her first organized basketball league called The Woodmoor Recreation Center Under 10 Boy's Basketball League. She managed to rally her team to a League Championship while being the leading scorer and rebounder in the entire league. But out of this came something greater! Sonia was able to meet two very important men who jump-started her career as a very young athlete and their names are Mr. Charles McCloud and Mr. James Peters. Both of these men were responsible for running The Liberty Road Girl's Basketball Program at Campfield Recreation Center which specifically aims to teach adolescent girls how to improve their basketball and life skills.

As Sonia became more serious-minded about the game, she continued to play basketball in numerous leagues and tournaments all year-round including Baltimore Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL), Project Survival and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). While growing up, Sonia attended many basketball camps such as Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Blue Star, Blue Chip, NIKE, and Chris Weller (Head Women's Basketball Coach at University of Maryland at College Park-UMCP).

Sonia attended middle and high school at one of the most prestigious college preparatory schools in the nation called The McDonogh School. McDonogh enabled Sonia to learn the importance of balancing her two B's: BOOKS and BASKETBALL as well as encouraged her to explore other adventurous activities. For example, Sonia became an active member of the Student Council, the Black Awareness Club and even the Jewish Culture Club. As a senior in high school, she was selected as a Rollins-Leuktemeyer Scholar, honoring her as an all-around outstanding student-athlete.

Throughout Sonia's high school career, her sports activities consisted of playing on the Varsity Women's Soccer team in the fall, the Varsity Women's Basketball Team in the winter and the Varsity Women's Softball team in the spring. On the basketball court, Sonia was a four-year Varsity Captain and starter who averaged 22pts, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Sonia was the first female athlete in school history to score 1,000 points or more and also set an astounding school record for assists, rebounds and steals. Sonia led the McDonogh Eagles to three Association of Independent Schools (A.I.S.) Conference Championships.

In 1994, Sonia was awarded a four-year athletic scholarship to play for Chris Weller at the University of Maryland at College Park. As a freshman, she earned a starting slot at the guard position and from then on became a Maryland favorite and star. In the summer of 1995, Sonia made the Olympic Sports Festival East Basketball Team that would later go on to win a gold medal in Colorado. On this team alongside teammates and currentWNBA stars Chamique Holdsclaw (Mystics) and Tamika Dixon (Sparks), Sonia averaged 4.3 pts, 3.8 boards, grabbed 6 steals and dished out 9 assists to rank fifth in the entire four-game gold medal quest. Throughout Sonia's four-year basketball career at Maryland, she led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in steals gaining the favorable reputation as the ACC's "Defensive Stopper" and was named as an Honorable Mention All-ACC selection as well.

In December 1998, Sonia graduated with a Bachelor or Arts degree in English Language and Literature and earned a certificate of academic honor in Women's Studies and Health.

By the end of her college career in 1998, Sonia had proven that she had the ability and strength to play in the Women' National Basketball Association (WNBA). On April 29, 1998, Sonia was drafted in the fourth round to the Charlotte Sting located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sonia played for the Charlotte Sting for two consecutive years. During the midst of playing in the WNBA, Sonia made three significant decisions. Following Sonia's rookie season, she returned to UMCP in the Fall semester of 1998 to complete the requirements for her college degree. This allowed Sonia to put an exclamation point on her college career! The other two decisions occurred in 1999 and 2001 when Sonia ventured abroad to Athens, Greece to play professional basketball for the "Hercules" and "Akademia" Club Teams, respectively. With these experiences, Sonia explored new and different people, food and culture and ultimately strengthened her basketball skills! Through Sonia's three D's: Desire, Dedication and Determination, she continues to enhance her basketball and life skills daily and always seeks to learn more and more about the game of basketball. One thing Sonia always keeps in mind is that: ANYTHING and EVERYTHING can be achieved through hard-work and commitment! SOAR!!!