Newton South HS alum Veronica Burton plays for the Connecticut Sun (Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
As soon as Veronica Burton felt Odyssey Sims rise up for a short jumper, the Connecticut Sun guard tossed her hands up, smothering the shot attempt of her Los Angeles Sparks matchup. Not a flashy pass or shifty crossover — but exactly the type of defense that’s become the Newton native’s calling card.
As the Connecticut Sun made history Tuesday night by hosting the first WNBA game at TD Garden, the 2018 Newton South High School graduate did too, playing her first game in Massachusetts since her Lions days in the building where she long rooted for her hometown favorite Boston Celtics.
“It’s even better than I anticipated, just seeing so many Bostonians coming out and filling the gym and so many people that I love and grew up with, it’s just been really surreal,” Burton said, “I’m grateful.”
With the TD Garden shedding its signature parquet floor for the Connecticut Sun’s orange, blue, and white, the Sun topped the Sparks 69-61 before a sold-out crowd of 19,145. The Sun (20-7) usually play home games at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, but they took over the home of the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins to host the first-ever WNBA game at the venue.
So too did Burton and about 100 of her closest friends and family members.
Ahead of her first competitive basketball game in Massachusetts since falling to eventual state champion Braintree in the Division 1 South final to end her high school career, the 24-year-old received plenty of local media coverage. She appeared on multiple podcasts, on television and was profiled in numerous written stories. Many of her family members commented in the coverage, including Burton’s older sister, Kayla, who covered the game herself part of the NBC Sports Boston broadcast team, and her mother, Ginni, who celebrated her birthday watching the youngest…