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.
| 1997 Utah Starzz season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Denise Taylor |
| Arena | Delta Center |
| Attendance | 7,611 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–21 (.250) |
| Place | 4th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Transactions
WNBA allocation draft
| Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|
| Elena Baranova |  Soviet Union |
CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| Lady Hardmon |  United States |
Georgia |
WNBA elite draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dena Head | United States |
Tennessee |
| 2 | 9 | Wendy Palmer | United States |
Virginia |
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Tammi Reiss | United States |
Virginia |
| 2 | 12 | Jessie Hicks | United States |
Maryland |
| 3 | 21 | Raegan Scott | United States |
Colorado |
| 4 | 28 | Kim Williams | United States |
DePaul |
Transactions
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| January 22, 1997 | Drafted Elena Baranova and Lady Hardmon in the 1997 WNBA Allocation Draft[1] | |
| February 27, 1997 | Drafted Dena Head and Wendy Palmer in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft[1] | |
| April 19, 1997 | Hired Denise Taylor as Head Coach[1] | |
| April 28, 1997 | Drafted Tammi Reiss, Jessie Hicks, Raegan Scott and Kim Williams in the 1997 WNBA Draft[1] | |
| June 20, 1997 | Waived Megan Compain[1] | |
Roster
| 1997 Utah Starzz roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
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 |
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular Season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | 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 |
| Tammi Reiss | 28 | 26 | 29.7 | .312 | .297 | .764 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 7.7 |
| Lady Hardmon | 28 | 24 | 24.7 | .347 | .100 | .655 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 5.5 |
| Kim Williams | 28 | 10 | 21.7 | .384 | .265 | .774 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 8.1 |
| Greta Koss | 13 | 10 | 20.6 | .517 | .667 | .750 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 3.4 |
| Dena Head | 27 | 4 | 17.4 | .390 | .313 | .884 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 5.7 |
| Deborah Carter | 18 | 7 | 15.9 | .385 | .143 | .714 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| Karen Booker | 26 | 4 | 12.3 | .333 | .000 | .568 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| Jessie Hicks | 26 | 0 | 10.1 | .463 | .000 | .563 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| Reagan Scott | 8 | 0 | 5.4 | .385 | N/A | 1.000 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| Megan Compain | 5 | 0 | 3.8 | .286 | ,250 | N/A | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired 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
References
External links
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