While attending Toll Gate High School in Warwick, Rhode Island in the early 1980s, Burke played both volleyball and basketball.
[1][2] While enrolled at Providence College, Burke helped lead the 1985–86 Friars to the Big East Championship Game and a bid in the NCAA tournament and also secure her team's entry into the 1986–87 NWIT.
[1][2] In the 2003–04 season, the Bulldogs finished the year ranked in the top 25 of the USA Today Division II Coaches Poll and advanced to the NCAA DII regional final, where they lost.
[1] The following season, the Bulldogs, coached by Burke, reached the NEC Tourney semifinals and earned a berth to the Women's Basketball Invitational.
Burke recorded 10-plus conference wins in 14 seasons, including eight-straight years with double-digit league victories (2000–08).