View source for Utah Starzz

{{About|the now defunct Utah basketball team|the current incarnation of the team|Las Vegas Aces|the soccer team|Utah Starzz (WPSL)}}
{{confused|Utah Stars}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Starzz|Starz (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox basketball club
| name            = Utah Starzz
| current         =  
| color1          = #{{WNBA color|Utah Starzz|2}} 
| color2          = #{{WNBA color|Utah Starzz|1}} 
| color3          = #{{WNBA color|Utah Starzz|3}} 
| logo            = 
| leagues         = [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]]
| conference      = [[Western Conference (WNBA)|Western]]
| founded         = 1997
| dissolved       = 
| history         = '''Utah Starzz'''<br />(1997–2002)<br />'''[[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]]'''<br />(2003–2013)<br />'''[[San Antonio Stars]]'''<br />(2014–2017)<br>'''[[Las Vegas Aces]]'''<br>(2018–present)
| arena           = [[Delta Center]] 
| location        = [[Salt Lake City|Salt Lake City, Utah]]
| colors          = Green, Purple, Light Blue, Copper, Black, White<br />{{color box|#006666}} {{color box|#330099}} {{color box|#0099CC}} {{color box|#CC6633}} {{color box|#000000}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}
| sponsor         = 
| manager         =
| coach           = Candi Harvey  
| assistants      =  
| gm              = Jay Francis
| ownership       = [[Larry H. Miller]]
| championships   = 
| conf_champs     =
| h_body          = ffffff 
| h_pattern_b     = _bluesides
| h_shorts        = ffffff
| h_pattern_s     = _bluesides
| a_body          = 18A1D7 
| a_pattern_b     = _bluesides
| a_shorts        = 18A1D7
| a_pattern_s     = _bluesides
}}

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.

==History==
One of the eight original [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]] teams, the Starzz were partially named after the old [[American Basketball Association (1967–1976)|ABA]] team [[Utah Stars]]. They were the sister team to the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[Utah Jazz]].<ref name= "next">{{cite news |last=Call |first=Jeff |url= https://www.deseret.com/1997/6/1/19315362/starzz-to-jazz-fans-we-got-next |title=Starzz to Jazz fans: We got next |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=June 1, 1997 |access-date=February 25, 2020}}</ref>

In 2002, after five seasons, Utah Jazz ownership lost interest in keeping the Starzz, leaving the team at risk of folding. No local buyers could be found, so the Starzz announced their intention to move out of [[Salt Lake City]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Marriott | first=Jonah | title=The Utah Starzz: Salt Lake’s Forgotten WNBA Franchise | website=The Daily Utah Chronicle | date=2023-12-21 | url=https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2023/12/21/utahs-wnba-franchise/ | access-date=2025-06-27}}</ref> On December 5, 2002, the team was purchased by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and it was announced that they would move immediately to [[San Antonio]] and change their nickname to the Silver Stars. The team relocated and became the [[San Antonio Silver Stars]] in 2003.<ref name= "playoffs">{{cite news |last=Elfman |first=Lois |url= http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2019/sep/19/wnba-playoffs-semi-finals/ |title=WNBA Playoffs into the semi-finals |work=[[New York Amsterdam News]] |date=September 19, 2019 |access-date=February 25, 2020}}</ref>

===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==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align: center; margin:1em auto;"
|-
!rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;"  |Season
!rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;"  |Team
!rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |Conference
!colspan="3" style="background:#eee;" |Regular season
!rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;" |[[WNBA Playoffs|Playoff]] Results
|-
!style="background:#eee;"|W
!style="background:#eee;"|L
!style="background:#eee;"|PCT
|-
|colspan="8" align=center style="text-align:center; background-color:#006666; color:#FFFFFF;"|'''Utah Starzz'''
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[1997 WNBA season|1997]]
| [[1997 Utah Starzz season|1997]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 4th
| 7
| 21
| .250
| 
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[1998 WNBA season|1998]]
| [[1998 Utah Starzz season|1998]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 5th
| 8
| 22
| .267
| 
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]
| [[1999 Utah Starzz season|1999]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 6th
| 15
| 17
| .469
| 
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
| [[2000 Utah Starzz season|2000]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 5th
| 18
| 14
| .563
| 
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
| [[2001 Utah Starzz season|2001]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 3rd
| 19
| 13
| .594
| '''Lost''' Conference Semifinals ([[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]], 0–2)
|-align="center"
!style="background:#eee;"| [[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| [[2002 Utah Starzz season|2002]]
| style="width: 10%"|[[Western Conference (WNBA)|West]]
| 3rd
| 20
| 12
| .625
| '''Won''' Conference Semifinals ([[Houston Comets|Houston]], 2–1)<br>'''Lost''' Conference Finals ([[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]], 0–2)
|-
!colspan="4" style="background:#eee;"|Regular season
|style="background:#eee;"| 87
|style="background:#eee;"| 99
|style="background:#eee;"| .468
|style="background:#eee;"| 0 Conference Championships
|-
!colspan="4" style="background:#eee;"|Playoffs
|style="background:#eee;"| 2
|style="background:#eee;"| 5
|style="background:#eee;"| .286
|style="background:#eee;"| '''0 WNBA Championships'''
|}

==Players==

===Final roster===
{{sports roster
| team = Utah Starzz
| season = 2002
| style = WNBA
| bg1 = #006666|color1=#FFFFFF|bg2=#330099|color2=#FFFFFF
| players = 
<!-- list of players -->
{{sports roster/entry | num = 43 | first = Elisa | last = Aguilar | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 156 | college = George Washington | nat = SPA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 8 | first = Jennifer | last = Azzi | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 144 | college = Stanford | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 20 | first = LaNeishea | last = Caufield | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 9 | lbs = 165 | college = Oklahoma | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 34 | first = Danielle | last = Crockrom | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 158 | college = Baylor | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 12 | first = Margo | last = Dydek | pos = C | ft = 7 | in = 2 | lbs = 223 | from = Poland | nat = Poland }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 3 | first = Marie | last = Ferdinand | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 9 | lbs = 153 | college = LSU | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 50 | first = Andrea | last = Gardner | pos = F/C | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 190 | college = Howard | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 15 | first = Adrienne | last = Goodson | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 0 | lbs = 160 | college = Old Dominion | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 54 | first = Amy | last = Herrig | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 189 | college = Iowa | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 23 | first = LaTonya | last = Johnson | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 149 | college = Memphis | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 21 | first = Semeka | last = Randall | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 170 | college = Tennessee | nat = USA }}
{{sports roster/entry | num = 24 | first = Natalie | last = Williams | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 2 | lbs = 210 | college = UCLA | nat = USA }}
<!-- end list of players -->
| head_coach = 
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Candi | last = Harvey| college = Ouachita Baptist}}
| asst_coach =
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Tammi | last = Reiss| college = Eastern Michigan}}
{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Bobbi | last = Morse | nolink = 1| college = University of Virginia}}
}}

===Notable players===
*[[Margo Dydek]]
*[[Marie Ferdinand-Harris]]
*[[Kristen Rasmussen]]
*[[Olympia Scott]]
*[[Natalie Williams]]
*[[Fran Harris]]
*[[Erin Alexander]]
*[[Adrienne Goodson]]

===FIBA Hall of Fame===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" style="{{WNBA color cell|Utah Starzz}}"|Utah Starzz Hall of Famers
|-
! colspan="5" style="{{WNBA color cell2|Utah Starzz}}"|Players
|-
! No.
! Name
! Position
! Tenure
! Inducted
|-
| 12 || [[Margo Dydek]] || [[Center (basketball)|C]] || 1998–2002 || 2019
|}

==Coaches==

===Head coaches===
*[[Denise Taylor]] (1997–1998)
*[[Frank Layden]] (1998–1999)
*[[Fred Williams (basketball, born 1957)|Fred Williams]] (1999–2001)
*[[Candi Harvey]] (2001–2002)

==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==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021010004209/http://www.wnba.com/starzz/ Official Site (October 2002)] (Archived)

{{WNBA}}
{{San Antonio Stars navbox}}

[[Category:Utah Starzz| ]]
[[Category:Basketball teams established in 1997]]
[[Category:Basketball teams disestablished in 2002]]
[[Category:Relocated Women's National Basketball Association teams]]
[[Category:Sports in Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:Basketball teams in Utah]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in Utah]]
[[Category:2002 disestablishments in Utah]]