A former Northwestern Wildcats legend is boldly going where no one has gone before...

Following a wall-to-wall Atlanta Dream victory Thursday over the Golden State Valkyries (although Golden State mounted a late comeback while getting Angel Reese into late foul trouble), the WNBA Finals are headed to a Game 7 for the first time since expanding to a best-of-seven series. Granted, the W just expanded to the format last year, but it's still — technically — an historic moment.

And an ex-Northwestern superstar will be starting in that game, slated for a spooky Halloween tip at 7 p.m. CT.

The Valkyries were down by as much as 25 points, but within the contest's final minute pulled to within eight points — before Allisha Gray helped Atlanta shut the door.

Golden State point guard Veronica Burton had a night to forget during her Valks' 80-69 Game 6 defeat, in front of a sold-out State Farm Arena crowd. The Dream evened the series, 3-3, as the action shifts back to Chase Center for Saturday.

Burton had a fairly inefficient offensive night, scoring eight points on 2-of-13 shooting from the floor (0-of-6 from distance). The 5-foot-9 guard chipped in five rebounds, four assists and three steals. She had the game's first points, a long jumper off a Kiah Stokes pick-and-pop screen.

Burton is only the second WNBA player in league history from Northwestern, though four Wildcats have been drafted.

The first, 31-year-old former All-Big Ten First Team southpaw Nia Brodie (formerly Coffey), was selected in 2017 and remains active today. Brodie is currently a reserve forward for the Minnesota Lynx, who were upset in the opening round of this year's playoffs. 

The Game 6 Valkyries loss, meanwhile, was a wipeout from practically the opening quarter. In that frame, the Dream more than doubled Golden State's output, 32-15. Gabby Williams' 22 second-half points did spur that late response, but Atlanta ultimately held on to survive another night.

Burton looked fairly chippy, rattling Rhyne Howard with some tough defense.

While All-WNBA Second Team forward Williams has emerged as Golden State's clear best player and center Stokes is making her case for Finals MVP (should Golden State finish the job at home on Sunday), Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic believes that Burton has established herself as the club's leader.

Another defense-first playmaker, future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, has become something of a mentor, Thompson wrote.

“Winning would obviously also be a version of success,” Burton reflected before Game 6, per Thompson. “But at the end of the day, it’s how you do it. How you go about it. How you bring people up. The relationships that you make. I think that’s more my version of success than anything else.”

Burton has had some clutch moments while essentially salvaging the series, after Golden State fell into a 2-1 hole. In Game 4's last five minutes, she nailed a step-back triple and a game-sealing fadeaway. In Game 5, her defense belied a modest stat line. Heading into Game 6, she had pestered Dream star point guard Jordin Canada into 18-of-57 shooting from the field and 15 turnovers.

Now, Burton's one game away from claiming her first WNBA title.

Prior to the game, Burton sat down with Yahoo Sports' Nekias Duncan to unpack her elite passing and her aptitude for defensive switches.

"I would say that's something I've always kind of watched a lot growing up. I watched my older siblings play and I think I understood defensive rotations," Burton told Duncan. "So for me, sometimes I overhelp, and sometimes it doesn't work in my favor, but understanding the timing of that and just trying to be in the right place [is why I'm effective]. Obviously our defensive system allows that."

A two-time All-Defensive Second Team menace, Duncan posits that Burton is such a threat in part because she has the wherewithal to steal the ball, even while she's running backwards.

"I played a lot of football with my brother growing up, and I think that allowed me a lot of the hand-eye coordination, playing a DB in coverage basically, growing up," Burton said.

Now, Burton has a chance to make some more Northwestern women's basketball history. Should Golden State nab the dub on Saturday, she would become the first former Wildcat to claim a WNBA title.