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1997 Utah Starzz season
Coach Denise Taylor
Arena Delta Center
Attendance7,611 per game
Results
Record7–21 (.250)
Place4th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Utah Starzz. The Starzz were partially named after the old ABA team, the Utah Stars, but with the zz at the end like the Utah Jazz. The franchise held the distinction of having the worst record in the WNBA in 1997.

Offseason

Initial Player Allocation

Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team College/HS/Club Team
15 Elena Baranova (C/F)  Russia Utah Starzz Russia
16 Lady Hardmon (G)  United States Utah Starzz Georgia

[1]

WNBA draft

Pick Player Position Nationality College/HS/Club Team
5 Tammi Reiss (G)  United States Virginia

Regular season

Season standings

Western Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Phoenix Mercury x 16 12 .571 9–3 –
Los Angeles Sparks o 14 14 .500 8–4 2.0
Sacramento Monarchs o 10 18 .357 4–8 6.0
Utah Starzz o 7 21 .250 3–9 9.0

Season schedule

Date Opponent Score Result Record
June 21 Sacramento 60-70 Loss 0-1
June 23 Los Angeles 102-89 Win 1-1
June 26 @ Cleveland 63-74 Loss 1-2
June 28 Houston 58-76 Loss 1-3
July 2 @ Sacramento 73-68 (OT) Win 2-3
July 3 Phoenix 55-77 Loss 2-4
July 5 New York 53-66 Loss 2-5
July 7 Sacramento 69-79 Loss 2-6
July 11 @ Los Angeles 68-75 Loss 2-7
July 12 Phoenix 52-51 Win 3-7
July 14 @ Houston 56-79 Loss 3-8
July 16 @ Charlotte 63-75 Loss 3-9
July 17 @ New York 54-80 Loss 3-10
July 19 @ Cleveland 68-95 Loss 3-11
July 22 @ New York 78-71 Win 4-11
July 26 Cleveland 66-77 Loss 4-12
July 30 @ Los Angeles 69-91 Loss 4-13
August 2 Houston 74-63 Win 5-13
August 4 Charlotte 73-70 Win 6-13
August 6 @ Phoenix 46-78 Loss 6-14
August 8 @ Sacramento 78-93 Loss 6-15
August 11 Cleveland 59-74 Loss 6-16
August 12 @ Houston 56-76 Loss 6-17
August 16 Los Angeles 64-74 Loss 6-18
August 17 @ Phoenix 63-71 (OT) Loss 6-19
August 19 New York 81-75 Win 7-19
August 21 Charlotte 56-66 Loss 7-20
August 24 @ Charlotte 52-70 Loss 7-21

Player stats

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Wendy Palmer 28 28 33.4 .374 .250 .676 8.0 1.7 1.7 0.2 15.8
Elena Baranova 28 27 32.6 .390 .377 .694 7.4 2.2 1.5 2.3 12.2
Kim Williams 28 10 21.7 .384 .265 .774 2.9 2.1 1.4 0.3 8.1
Tammi Reiss 28 26 29.7 .312 .297 .764 2.8 3.1 0.8 0.1 7.7
Dena Head 27 4 17.4 .390 .313 .844 2.3 1.7 0.5 0.3 5.7
Lady Grooms 28 24 24.7 .347 .100 .655 3.0 2.4 0.8 0.1 5.5
Deborah Carter 19 7 15.1 .390 .222 .714 2.8 0.4 0.7 0.1 4.0
Greta Koss 13 10 20.6 .517 .667 .750 2.8 0.8 0.7 0.3 3.4
Jessie Hicks 26 0 10.1 .463 .000 .563 1.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 3.2
Karen Booker 26 4 12.3 .333 .000 .568 3.1 0.9 0.9 0.6 2.3
Raegan Scott 8 0 5.4 .385 — 1.000 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.4 1.5
Megan Compain‡ 4 0 4.8 .000 .000 — 0.3 0.5 1.0 0.3 0.0

‡ Waived during the season

  • Elena Baranova ranked third in the WNBA in total rebounds with 207
  • Dena Head ranked fifth in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .844
  • Wendy Palmer ranked second in the WNBA in total rebounds with 225.
  • Wendy Palmer ranked sixth in the WNBA in field goals with 157.
  • Wendy Palmer ranked fourth in the WNBA in points with 443 points.
  • Wendy Palmer ranked ninth in the WNBA in minutes per game with 33.4
  • Wendy Palmer ranked fourth in the WNBA in points per game with 15.8
  • Tammi Reiss ranked tenth in the WNBA in assists with 87. [2]

Awards and honors

  • Elena Baranova: Led WNBA, Blocks, 63
  • Elena Baranova: Led WNBA, Blocks per game, 2.2
  • Elena Baranova, Ranked second in the WNBA (tied), Defensive Rebounds, 151
  • Wanda Guyton: Ranked second in WNBA (tied), Offensive Rebounds, 76
  • Wendy Palmer: Led WNBA, Field Goal Attempts, 420
  • Wendy Palmer: Ranked second in the WNBA, Free Throws, 117

[2]

References

  1. ^ "WNBA.com: All-Time WNBA Draft List". Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "1997 WNBA Season Summary".

External links

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