The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams.
| Utah Starzz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Western | ||
| Leagues | WNBA | ||
| Founded | 1997 | ||
| History | Utah Starzz (1997–2002) San Antonio Silver Stars (2003–2013) San Antonio Stars (2014–2017) Las Vegas Aces (2018–present) | ||
| Arena | Delta Center | ||
| Location | Salt Lake City, Utah | ||
| Team colors | Green, Purple, Light Blue, Copper, Black, White | ||
| General manager | Jay Francis | ||
| Head coach | Candi Harvey | ||
| Ownership | Larry H. Miller | ||
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History
editOne of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz, which was partially named after the old ABA team. Utah Jazz ownership was not interested in keeping the Starzz, and without new owners the team would have folded. No local ownership was found, so in 2002, the Starzz announced their intentions to move out of Salt Lake City. On December 5, 2002, the Utah Starzz was bought by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and it was announced that the Starzz would move immediately to San Antonio and change their nickname to the Silver Stars.
The Starzz were the sister team to the NBA's Utah Jazz.[1]
The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars.[2]
Uniforms
edit- 1997–2002: For home games, white with blue on the sides and shoulders and white Starzz logo text on the chest. For away games, blue with purple on the sides and white Starzz logo text on the chest. The Starzz logo is on the shorts.
Season-by-season records
edit| Season | Team | Conference | Regular season | Playoff Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | |||||
| Utah Starzz | |||||||
| 1997 | 1997 | West | 4th | 7 | 21 | .250 | |
| 1998 | 1998 | West | 5th | 8 | 22 | .267 | |
| 1999 | 1999 | West | 6th | 15 | 17 | .469 | |
| 2000 | 2000 | West | 5th | 18 | 14 | .563 | |
| 2001 | 2001 | West | 3rd | 19 | 13 | .594 | Lost Conference Semifinals (Sacramento, 0–2) |
| 2002 | 2002 | West | 3rd | 20 | 12 | .625 | Won Conference Semifinals (Houston, 2–1) Lost Conference Finals (Los Angeles, 0–2) |
| Regular season | 87 | 99 | .468 | 0 Conference Championships | |||
| Playoffs | 2 | 5 | .286 | 0 WNBA Championships | |||
Players
editFinal roster
edit| Utah Starzz roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notable players
edit- Margo Dydek
- Marie Ferdinand-Harris
- Kristen Rasmussen
- Olympia Scott
- Natalie Williams
- Fran Harris
- Erin Alexander
- Adrienne Goodson
FIBA Hall of Fame
edit| Utah Starzz Hall of Famers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | ||||
| No. | Name | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| 12 | Margo Dydek | C | 1998–2002 | 2019 |
Coaches
editHead coaches
edit- Denise Taylor (1997–1998)
- Frank Layden (1998–1999)
- Fred Williams (1999–2001)
- Candi Harvey (2001–2002)
General managers
edit- Tim Howells (1997–1999)
All-time notes
editDraft picks
edit- 1997 Elite Draft: Dena Head (1), Wendy Palmer (9)
- 1997 WNBA Draft: Tammi Reiss (5), Jessie Hicks (12), Raegan Scott (21), Kim Williams (28)
- 1998 WNBA Draft: Margo Dydek (1), Olympia Scott (11), LaTonya Johnson (21), Tricia Bader (31)
- 1999 WNBA Draft: Natalie Williams (3), Debbie Black (15), Adrienne Goodson (27), Dalma Ivanyi (39)
- 2000 WNBA Draft: Naomi Mulitauaopele (12), Stacy Frese (35), Kristen Rasmussen (51)
- 2001 WNBA Draft: Marie Ferdinand (8), Michaela Pavlickova (24), Shea Ralph (40), Cara Consuegra (56)
- 2002 WNBA Draft: Danielle Crockrom (11), Andrea Gardner (27), Edmarie Lumbsley (43), Jaclyn Winfield (59)
All-stars
edit- 1999: Natalie Williams
- 2000: Natalie Williams
- 2001: Natalie Williams
- 2002: Marie Ferdinand, Adrienne Goodson
References
edit- ^ Call, Jeff (June 1, 1997). "Starzz to Jazz fans: We got next". Deseret News. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
- ^ Elfman, Lois (September 19, 2019). "WNBA Playoffs into the semi-finals". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
External links
edit- Official Site (October 2002) (Archived)