Spirit bolster backcourt with WNBA finalist Veronica Burton

9 October 2024 | Bendigo Spirit news

The Bendigo Spirit have signed Connecticut Sun guard Veronica Burton for the 2024-2025 Season.

Burton, currently playing in the WNBA semi-finals where her Sun are tied with the Minnesota Lynx at 2-2, was selected as the 7th pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2022 WNBA draft after an award winning collegiate career where she attended Northwestern.

Known for her defensive abilities having been named the B1G defensive player of the year in 2020, 2021 and 2022 where she led the entire NCAA in steals, Burton was more recently seen matching up with Caitlin Clark in the first round of the playoffs.

Spirit head Coach Kennedy Kereama is excited about bringing Burton to Australia.

“Veronica is someone who we think fits our program perfectly. She can handle the ball and play point guard but is also effective without the ball in her hands and will slot in with Sami (Whitcomb) seamlessly.”

“Her ability to pressure the ball and contain guards will be huge in our goal of getting the Spirit back to the finals”

Burton is no stranger to playing basketball overseas as she played for Lublin (Poland) throughout her last WNBA offseason. She averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the Euroleague.

In addition to her defensive prowess, Burton’s ability to play out of a pick and roll in addition to her improving 3 point shot, having shot 33% in the WNBA regular season, will be huge additions to a Spirit lineup which already includes Whitcomb, Marianna Tolo and Kelsey Griffin.

Burton is the 9th player that the Spirit have announced for this season.

To secure your seats to see Burton and the Spirit play each week, memberships are available here.