Veronica Grace Burton (born July 12, 2000) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). She played

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for the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...

. She also represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup and won a gold medal.

College career

During the 2018–19 season, in her freshman year, she started 31 games and ranked first in the Big Ten in steals (81), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4), and tied for sixteenth in assists per game (3.6). She also led the team in assists (113) and steals (81). During the 2019–20 season, in her sophomore year, she ranked first in the Big Ten in steals (100), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4), fourth in assists (152) and free throw percentage (.793). She also led the team in assists, steals, and free throw percentage. Following an outstanding season, she was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. During the 2020–21 season, in her junior year, she started 24 of 25 games and led the team in points (16.2), assists (4.9) and steals (3.8). Her 3.84 steals per game also led the NCAA. Following an outstanding season, she was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, first-team All-Big Ten and named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. On October 21, 2021, Burton was named captain for the 2021–22 season. During her senior year, she averaged 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals per game. Before the NCAA Tournament, she led the nation in total steals and ranked second in steals per game. She also ranked in the top five nationally and led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio, and ranked sixth nationally in assists per game. Her 117 steals were the third most in a season in Wildcat history and tied for the seventh most in a season in Big Ten history. Following an outstanding season, she was named a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and first-team All-Big Ten. She was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, joining Tanisha Wright as the only three-time winner. She was also named the

WBCA Defensive Player of the Year The WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year is awarded by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to the best defensive player in NCAA Division I college basketball, women's basketball. The winner is selected from among the winners of ...

and a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. She was also named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press, and an honorable mention by

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

. She became the first player in program history to be named to an AP All-America team. On March 25, 2022, Burton renounced her extra year of eligibility due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and declared for the 2022 WNBA draft. She finished her career second-all time in program history in steals with 394, and third all-time in Big Ten history. She also finished third in program history in career assists with 575.

WNBA

Dallas Wings

On April 11, 2022, Burton was drafted in the first round, 7th overall, by the

in the 2022 WNBA draft.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Playoffs

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National team career

On June 6, 2021, Burton was named to team USA for the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup. During the tournament, she averaged 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, to help lead USA to a gold medal.

Personal life

Veronica was born to Steve and Ginni Burton. Her father played quarterback at Northwestern, and is currently a television sports reporter in Boston, while her mother was an All-American and Big Ten Champion in swimming for the Wildcats. Her sisters, Kendall and Kayla also played

, while her brother, Austin, was a quarterback at Purdue. Her grandfather,

Ron Burton Ronald E. Burton (July 25, 1936 – September 13, 2003) was an American football player in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots. He was a consensus All-American running back at Northwestern University, and is a member of ...

, played football for the Boston Patriots and is a College Football Hall of Famer.

References

External links

Northwestern Wildcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Veronica 2000 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Massachusetts Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball players Sportspeople from Newton, Massachusetts Point guards United States women's national basketball team players Dallas Wings draft picks Dallas Wings players