Veronica Burton Sets Career Highs in Golden State Valkyries' First Win
Veronica Burton had a rough start to the season in last week's opener, but the point guard showed exactly what she was capable of in a career-best performance on Thursday night. The Northwestern legend did everything for Golden State as the Valkyries earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the Washington Mystics, 76-74.
Playing in her second regular season game for the expansion team, Burton stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. The career-33.1% shooter made six of her 11 attempts from the field, went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and was 7-of-8 at the line.
Burton's performance was headlined by a 14-point fourth quarter, which included a go-ahead triple with 1:38 remaining and a dagger three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining. The fourth-year guard's clutch shooting helped put away a Mystics team that was previously 2-0.
Burton now leads the Valkyries in points and assists per game so far in the young season.
Despite setting career highs in points and rebounds, Burton had a slow start to the game. The former Wildcat had just three first-half points before throwing up a 38-foot prayer at the buzzer, which miraculously found the bottom of the net to give Golden State the lead at the break.
Burton played just 17 minutes in the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, struggling with two points on 0-of-4 shooting. However, head coach Natalie Nakase kept Burton in the starting lineup against Washington, and her faith in the 24-year-old guard paid off tremendously.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.