| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/HS/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Tammi Reiss | (G) | United States | Virginia |
| 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 |
| 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 | 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 Viktorovna Baranova is a Russian former professional basketball player. She is a former Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player, where she became the first player from Europe in 1997 WNBA inaugural season, the first All-Star from Russia in 2001 and played for the New York Liberty until the 2005 season.
Olympia Scott, formerly known under her married name of Olympia Scott-Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player in the WNBA, and a former college coach. She is also co-founder of an online parenting education company called "Super Parenting LLC" and of a coaching company called "A Wonderful Life! Coaching".
Dena Head is an American retired women's basketball player. She is best remembered as the first player drafted in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Wendy Palmer is a former professional basketball player in the WNBA, and former head coach of the UNCG women's basketball team. Her primary position was forward.
The 1997 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's inaugural season. It started off with 8 franchises: Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and the Utah Starzz. It featured an inaugural game between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67–57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284. The season ended with the Comets defeating the Liberty in a one-game series 65–51. Cynthia Cooper was named MVP of the game.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Houston Comets. The Comets won the inaugural WNBA Finals.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the New York Liberty.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first for the Phoenix Mercury.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Charlotte Sting.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Sacramento Monarchs.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Cleveland Rockers.
Pamela Denise McGee is an American former professional women's basketball player, Olympic gold medalist, and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. She is the mother of NBA player JaVale McGee and WNBL player Imani McGee-Stafford.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1997, when she was 16. In 1998, she led the AIS team that won the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) championship. Jackson joined the Canberra Capitals for the 1999 season when she turned 18 and played with the team off and on until 2006, winning four more WNBL championships. From 2010 to 2016, Jackson played with the Canberra Capitals, which she did during the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) offseason during the time she continued WNBA play.
Pollyanna Casanga Johns Kimbrough, formerly Pollyanna Johns is an American former basketball player. She was born in Nassau, Bahamas, grew up in Jamaica and moved to the United States at age 13. She played for six seasons as a center and forward in the WNBA for the Charlotte Sting (1998), Cleveland Rockers, Miami Sol (2002), and Houston Comets (2004).
Tammi Reiss is an American actress and former professional basketball player. She is currently the coach for the University of Rhode Island. Reiss is a native of New York state. Reiss graduated from the University of Virginia in 1992 with a major in sports management. As a professional, she was chosen in the first round of the first-ever WNBA draft, and she played for two years with the Utah Starzz.
Jennifer Raegan Pebley is an American basketball coach and former player.
Jessie Hicks is a former professional basketball player. She was chosen to be a member of the 2013 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Legends Roster, a class of 12 former-student-athletes who represent three decades of basketball.
Trena Trice-Hill is an American former professional basketball player for the New York Liberty and current assistant coach at Columbia University.