SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Valkyries secured an important head-to-head tiebreaker over the Los Angeles Sparks in their 72-59 win at home. Veronica Burton, who has started all 30 games of the Valkyries' season so far, played a huge role in the team getting back in the win column after two disappointing losses to the Las Vegas Aces. Burton's two-way play was on full display. She finished with a game-high 16 points, five assists, and five rebounds, all while holding Sparks star Kelsey Plum to four points on 1-of-9 shooting for the game.

But Burton's performance didn't come without some late-game dramatics. At the 3:52 mark in the fourth quarter, Plum blatantly tripped Burton as she went for a crossover, sending the Valkyries guard to the hardwood. Burton got to her feet immediately and confronted Plum, still on the floor, before teammates separated the two players. The officiating crew went to the replay booth and upgraded Plum's foul to a flagrant foul.

It was an uncharacteristically heated moment for Burton, especially for a player who is often calm and collected on the court. She rarely finds herself on the verge of a confrontation like she did Saturday. But despite the heated exchange on the court, Burton gave a brief answer to a question about the incident between the two guards.

“Yeah, I don't know. I think, obviously, it's just part of the game. It got called a flagrant, so we just move on from there,” Burton said.

On the Sparks side of things, head coach Lynne Roberts made a point to emphasize that Plum's foul was not a malicious act.

“She was trying to kick the ball,” Roberts told reporters. “She's not a dirty player.”

Veronica Burton's two-way play vs. Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) dribbles around Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center.
D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Kelsey Plum's flagrant foul should not overshadow the impressiveness of Veronica Burton's two-way performance vs. Los Angeles. She held Plum to well below her season average as her primary defender, not to mention her role as the Valkyries' de facto point-of-attack defender. After the game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase praised Burton for her defense on Plum.

“Just V understanding the game plan, asking questions a lot at shootaround and yesterday in practice. Just taking that next level of, ‘Not only am I guarding Kelsey Plum, but where else do my players need to be in rotations? 
What are we doing exactly?'” Nakase explained. She emphasized Burton's physicality at the point of attack while also not fouling Plum.

“Keeping her to four [points], I mean, that's really good. I mean, we understand the talent of Kelsey Plum, scorer on all three levels. So again, credit to V, and then just credit for her teammates for having her back.”

Burton was humble about her performance on Plum, crediting her teammates for the collective effort defensively.

“I think we were really connected defensively,” Burton told reporters. “The communication was at an all-time high. We were in our shifts, and I was guarding her a lot, but I never felt like I was on an island. I knew my teammates had my back. 
If she was driving, I knew someone was going to be there in the paint to help. And on every screen, the screens were called out. It was just a well-connected team defense effort.”

Veronica Burton's play in this game and this season at large is a big part of why the Valkyries are 15-15. They'll look to get above .500 on Monday vs. the Connecticut Sun.