Kaitlyn Burke

Kaitlyn Burke (born August 30, 1989 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian basketball player currently playing for the University of Nebraska. Her sister Ashley played basketball at Gonzaga, and her brother Sean plays basketball for Simon Fraser University.

University of Nebraska
In her sophomore year (2008–09), Burke became a part-time starter for the Cornhuskers. The 5-7 guard from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada started 19 of Nebraska's 31 games, helping the Huskers to the second round of the Postseason WNIT. Burke started the Huskers first eight games of the season. During the streak, she suffered a broken and dislocated finger on her shooting hand during the opening minutes of Nebraska's third game of the season against Southern Utah on November 22. Burke moved to a reserve role for the next eight games, (from Dec. 9 to Jan. 17). Burke then started 11 straight games before giving way to senior guard Tay Hester on Senior Night against Colorado on March 3. Statically, she finished the seaspm with averages of 4.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. She played nearly 21 minutes per contest and knocked down 23-of-70 three-pointers (32.9 percent). She added 16 steals on the year.

Burke scored in double figures three times during the season. She had a season-high 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field versus Missouri on Jan. 17. She opened the season with 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and a career-high three steals in a win over Weber State in her first career start on Nov. 14. The last double digit game was on Dec. 28 against the Arizona State Sun Devils. She scored 12 points, three rebounds and a career-high matching three. Her career high in assists was set in the Huskers win over Long Beach State on Dec. 12. At season’s end, Burke claimed two honors. Burke earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors and claimed spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in both the fall and spring semesters. In her Freshman season (2007–08), Burke led the Huskers in both assists (78) and three-pointers made (33), while averaging 5.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. She chose Nebraska over Idaho. Statistically, she ranked 11th among Big 12 freshmen in scoring, second in assists and fifth in three-pointers made. Burke’s 78 assists were the sixth-best total by a freshman in school history. Her 33 three-pointers as a rookie trailed only two-time WNBA All-Star Anna DeForge among Huskers freshmen.

One of her best performances of the season was against Long Beach State on December 15. She scored 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the Huskers win over Long Beach State on Dec. 15. For her efforts, Burke claimed Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors on Dec. 17. Burke’s first game was on November 9 against the eventual Conference USA champion University of Texas El Paso. She contributed 13 points as the Huskers won the game. Burke also contributed 12 points in Nebraska's 82-72 win over Iowa State in Ames on Jan. 19. It was the Huskers to their first win over ISU at Hilton Coliseum in a decade. Burke finished the season with four double-figure scoring efforts. She scored in 28 games, while appearing in all 33 games for the Huskers off the bench. The last game of her freshman season was on March 25 against top-seeded Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in College Park, Maryland. Burke scored five points and had one assist.

High school
She was a guard on the Canadian Under-19 National Team that competed at the FIBA Women's World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, in July and August 2007. In five games at the U19 championships, Burke averaged 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Canadian team. She also connected on 6-of-17 three-pointers. She attended high school at Argyle Secondary School in her hometown of North Vancouver, British Columbia. She led Argyle to North Shore titles from 2002 to 2004. In 2005, she led Argyle to a runner-up finish. Burke averaged 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals per game in high school. She was voted the Argyle athlete of the year in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and earned first-team All-North Shore Conference honors all four years.
 * Burke became the second Canadian to play basketball at Nebraska following forward Chelsea Aubry (2004–07). Burke spent several years in the Canadian National Team program and was one of the first players to attend Canada's National Elite Development Academy in Hamilton, Ontario.

Canadian National Program
Burke has been involved with the Canadian National Program for several years. In 2005, she participated in all five games in the USA Basketball Youth Festival. She averaged 11.0 minutes and 3.2 points per game while averaging 1.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. The following year (2006), Burke was selected for the inaugural class at the National Elite Development Academy in Hamilton, Ontario. She appeared in all five games of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She appeared in all eight games of the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championships for Women averaging 7.9 points and 2.2 assists per game. One of the highlights was scoring 11 points in a win over Japan. She played three games of an exhibition series against the Chinese Olympic team in 2008. She was named the most valuable player of the Canadian Under-17 National Championships in 2006, and won gold as a member of Team British Columbia. Other accomplishments include finishing fourth at the 2005 Canada Games with Team B.C, gold at the 2004 Spokane Invitational, and silver at the 2003 Western Canada Games.

Acting career
Prior to her athletic career, Burke was an actress. She had appeared in both commercials and feature films. Her credits include:
 * Questar's Bear with Me (2000)
 * Ms. Bear (1997)
 * Disney's Life-Size starring Tyra Banks and Lindsay Lohan (2000)
 * A Song from the Heart (1999)
 * National Lampoon's Dad's Week Off starring Henry Winkler (1997)
 * Burke also appeared in the television series Millennium from X-Files creator Chris Carter in 1998 and 1999.

Awards and honors

 * First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009)
 * Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 17, 2007)
 * No. 2 on Nebraska Freshman Three-Point list (33, 2008)
 * Team Leader with 78 Assists as Freshman (2008)
 * Four-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2007, 2008; Spring 2008, 2009)
 * Canadian Junior National Team (2006, 2007)
 * Canadian Cadet National Team (2005)
 * MVP of Canadian Under-17 National Championships (2006)
 * Canadian National Elite Development Academy (2006)
 * Captain of British Columbia Provincial Team (2003–06)
 * Nike All-Canada Camp Participant (2003–06)