Veronica Burton

Personal: Both parents were student-athletes at Northwestern … father, Steve, was a quarterback on the Wildcats’ football team … mother, Ginni, was an All-America and Big Ten Conference champion swimmer … grandfather, Ron, also played football at Northwestern and earned NCAA and Northwestern Hall of Fame distinction … brother, Austin, played football at UCLA from 2017-19 before transferring to Purdue … uncle, Paul, played football at Northwestern … sister, Kendall, played basketball at Villanova from 2011-16 … sister, Kayla, played basketball at Lehigh from 2013-17 … would be working in sports as a consultant or in the front office for a team if she was not playing basketball … lists Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown as a person who has made a difference in her life … enjoys playing spikeball, table tennis and water sports along with going for walks and runs … involved in lacrosse, track and field and cross country as a child. 

Other Professional Experience: Selected with No. 7 overall pick by Dallas in 2022 WNBA Draft … appeared in 36 games as a rookie with six starts … averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest … scored season-high 15 points against New York on Aug. 10, 2022 … chipped in 11 points at Minnesota on June 28, 2022 … dished out season-high seven assists in season finale against Los Angeles. 

International Experience: Helped Team USA win Gold medal at 2021 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup … averaged 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists while starting 5-of-6 games during the tournament.

College Experience: Four-year letter winner at Northwestern who started 114-of-15 games from 2018-22 … accumulated 1,536 career points while averaging 13.4 points per contest … shot 40.9 percent from the field in her career in addition to an .817 free throw percentage … averaged 4.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game … ranks second on Wildcats’ all-time list with 394 career steals, including 117 thefts as a senior … stands third on school ledger with 575 career assists … one of five players in program history to garner Associated Press All-America distinction … first Northwestern player to earn a spot on one of three AP All-America Teams … finalist for 2021 and 2022 Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year awards … also among finalists for 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award and Dawn Staley Award, given to the best point guard in women’s college basketball … three-time selection as Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year … one of two players in Big Ten Conference history to win league’s Defensive Player of the Year award three consecutive years … earned First-Team All-Big Ten recognition by the league’s coaches and media as a junior and senior … led Big Ten in steals as a freshman and sophomore … scored in double figures in 26-of-29 games as a senior, including nine outings with 20 or more points … netted career-high 32 points at Clemson on Dec. 2, 2021, shooting 8-for-13 from the field and 14-for-15 at the free throw line … one of four players in Northwestern history to be selected in WNBA Draft.