Utah Starzz

The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars.[1] The Starzz were the sister team to the NBA's Utah Jazz.[2]

This article is about the now defunct Utah basketball team. For the current incarnation of the team, see Las Vegas Aces. For the soccer team, see Utah Starzz (WPSL).
"Starzz" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Starz (disambiguation).
Utah Starzz
ConferenceWestern
LeaguesWNBA
Founded1997
HistoryUtah Starzz
(1997–2002)
San Antonio Silver Stars
(2003–2013)
San Antonio Stars
(2014–2017)
Las Vegas Aces
(2018–present)
ArenaDelta Center
LocationSalt Lake City, Utah
Team colorsGreen, Purple, Light Blue, Copper, Black, White
           
General managerJay Francis
Head coachCandi Harvey
OwnershipLarry H. Miller

Franchise History

One 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.

Uniforms
  • 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
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

Final roster
Utah Starzz roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHt.Wt.From
G 43 Aguilar, Elisa 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 156 lb (71 kg) George Washington
G 8 Azzi, Jennifer 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Stanford
G 20 Caufield, LaNeishea 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oklahoma
F 34 Crockrom, Danielle 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 158 lb (72 kg) Baylor
C 12 Dydek, Margo 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Poland
G 3 Ferdinand, Marie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 153 lb (69 kg) LSU
F/C 50 Gardner, Andrea 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Howard
G 15 Goodson, Adrienne 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Old Dominion
C 54 Herrig, Amy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Iowa
F 23 Johnson, LaTonya 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 149 lb (68 kg) Memphis
G 21 Randall, Semeka 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Tennessee
F 24 Williams, Natalie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coaches



Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Notable players

FIBA Hall of Fame
Utah Starzz Hall of Famers
Players
No. Name Position Tenure Inducted
12Margo DydekC1998–20022019

Coaches

Head coaches

General managers
  • Tim Howells (1997–1999)

All-time notes

Draft picks
  • 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
  • 1999: Natalie Williams
  • 2000: Natalie Williams
  • 2001: Natalie Williams
  • 2002: Marie Ferdinand, Adrienne Goodson

References
  1. Elfman, Lois (September 19, 2019). "WNBA Playoffs into the semi-finals". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  2. Call, Jeff (June 1, 1997). "Starzz to Jazz fans: We got next". Deseret News. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
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