Northwestern Professional Athletes

Two Northwestern alumni are making noise in the WNBA this week — one clinching a playoff spot, the other watching a Northwestern-adjacent story unfold with the postseason on the horizon.

Veronica Burton Is Golden State's Ignition Switch

The Valkyries' six-game winning streak didn't happen by accident, and Veronica Burton's fingerprints are all over it. The Northwestern guard was central to Golden State's playoff-clinching 78-70 win over Dallas on Monday, posting 16 points, five assists, and two steals in a performance that underscored her role as the team's connective tissue on both ends of the floor.

She kept the production coming Thursday against Minnesota — 14 points, a season-high-matching seven assists, and four steals — even as the Valkyries dropped a 77-66 decision to the Lynx. Then on Friday against Chicago, Burton chipped in 11 points and two assists in a 73-70 loss to the Sky, a rare stumble after the winning run. Over the three-game stretch, she averaged 13.7 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game — numbers that reflect a player operating at a high level heading into the postseason.

Olivia Miles: Record-Breaker, Then a Worrying Exit

The Minnesota rookie has been rewriting the WNBA record books throughout her debut season, and Wednesday's game against Golden State produced another highlight: a sidestep three-pointer in which she manufactured enough space to send Burton retreating, then buried the shot. It was exactly the kind of moment that has made her one of the league's must-watch players.

But the game ended on a far more alarming note. Late in the contest, Miles stepped on Napheesa Collier's foot while trying to contain a Burton drive, and went down in visible pain. The image of Miles writhing on the court rattled fans and teammates alike, with the playoffs now looming. There's been no definitive diagnosis reported, and the severity of the injury remains uncertain — but the timing couldn't be worse for a Lynx squad with genuine postseason ambitions.

Nia Coffey: Steady Lynx Reserve

Fellow Wildcat Nia Coffey has quietly been a reliable contributor off Minnesota's bench. She registered 12 points and a plus-13 in Sunday's win over Las Vegas, then added eight points and three steals in Friday's 94-84 victory over Washington — a performance that included a plus-12 rating. Her efficiency and defensive versatility give the Lynx a proven option as the roster navigates a potential Miles absence.

The Big Picture

The Wildcat alumni story this week cuts two ways: Burton helping Golden State lock up a playoff berth while rounding into form at exactly the right moment, and the Lynx bracing for potential life without their electrifying rookie. If Miles misses time, Minnesota's margin for error narrows considerably. For Burton and the Valkyries, the message is simpler — the streak may have ended, but the postseason is booked.

Veronica Burton didn't just beat Dallas on Friday night — she dismantled the franchise that cut her.

The Northwestern alum dropped a season-high 22 points and dished 7 assists as the Golden State Valkyries rolled past the Wings 94-76, powering a franchise-record 27-assist performance that telegraphed exactly what kind of team Golden State has become. The Valkyries improved to 22-9 and stretched their winning streak to three games in front of 16,444 fans at American Airlines Center — the very building that hosts the Dallas Mavericks and the Wings' home games while their own arena is being readied for 2027.

The symmetry was hard to miss. Dallas let Burton go before Golden State took a flier on her as an expansion franchise. She's since earned the league's Most Improved Player award, and Friday was the exclamation point on that arc: +7 plus-minus, a steal, and four rebounds to go with the headline numbers. Burton wasn't just good — she was the engine behind a ball-movement clinic.

It wasn't a one-game spike, either. Burton has been building toward this all week. She put up 17 points, 6 assists, and a +15 plus-minus in a win over Portland on Monday, then followed with 11 points and 7 more assists in a rematch Wednesday. Over the three-game winning streak, she averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 assists — the kind of sustained production that makes the Dallas front office file that roster decision quietly away.

Meanwhile in Minnesota

Northwestern's other WNBA alum had a notably rougher week. Nia Coffey, a forward with the Lynx, found herself at the center of controversy during Minnesota's Sunday matchup with the Indiana Fever. Coffey landed a hard elbow to the face of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham in the second quarter — a play that drew widespread criticism after referees initially called the foul on Cunningham before a review. The sequence sparked a firestorm around WNBA officiating, with voices across the league calling the original call indefensible.

On the court, Coffey's stats were modest across the week: 4 points and 2 rebounds in the Fever game Sunday, 3 points and 2 boards in a loss to the Sparks on Friday, and a quiet 3-rebound, 1-steal line in a Lynx win over Las Vegas on Saturday. Minnesota took two of those three games, but Coffey's role in the offense remained limited.

The Wildcat Ledger

Burton is the story of this stretch — and, frankly, one of the better stories in the WNBA right now. A player deemed expendable by Dallas has grown into a foundational piece of the league's most interesting second-year franchise, one that just put up a 27-assist game on a road floor while the Wings prepare to move into a new building. Golden State looks like a long-term contender, and Burton looks like a reason why.

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