1997 Utah Starzz season

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
CoachDenise Taylor
ArenaDelta Center
Attendance7,611 per game
Results
Record7–21 (.250)
Place4th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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 x1612.5719–3–
Los Angeles Sparks o1414.5008–42.0
Sacramento Monarchs o1018.3574–86.0
Utah Starzz o721.2503–99.0

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
  • 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]

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gollark: The lookup table? It isn't unless you hardcode all primes ever.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2008-10-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/years/1997.html
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