San Antonio Silver Stars

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For current information on this topic, see
2008 San Antonio Silver Stars season
San Antonio Silver Stars
San Antonio Silver Stars logo
Conference Western Conference
Founded 1997
History Utah Starzz (1997-2002)
Arena AT&T Center
City San Antonio, Texas
Team Colors Silver, Black
Owner Peter Holt
General Manager Dan Hughes[1]
Head Coach Dan Hughes
WNBA Championships None
Conference Titles None
Mascot The Fox [2]

The San Antonio Silver Stars are a team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in San Antonio, Texas. They are one of the original eight founding teams in the WNBA.

Originally based in Salt Lake City, Utah under the name the Utah Starzz, the team moved to Texas in 2003.

The Stars are the sister team of the San Antonio Spurs.

Uniforms:

  • 1997 - 2002: At home, white with blue and purple trim. Starzz logo test is on the chest in purple. Away from home, teal with white Starzz logo text on the chest and blue trim on the sides. Starzz logo "U" is on the right leg of the shorts.
  • 2003 - 2006: At home, silver with black trim. Stars logo text is on the chest in black. Away from home, black with silver trim. Stars logo text is on the chest in white.
  • 2007 - present: At home, silver with black stars down the side. Stars logo text is on the chest in black. Away from home, black with silver stars down the side. San Antonio text is on the chest in white. Player's names are beneath their numbers on the back of the uniform.

Contents

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] The Utah Starzz Years (1997-2002)

Utah Starzz

One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Utah Starzz (partially named after the old ABA team, the Utah Stars, but with the zz at the end like the Utah Jazz) never met the same success as their (former) NBA counterpart, the Utah Jazz. They held the distinction of having the worst record in the WNBA in 1997 and were the first team to select in the 1998 WNBA Draft. With their selection, they picked 7 ft. 2 in. center Margo Dydek, who easily became the tallest player in WNBA history. Unfortunately, the pickup of Dydek did little to help their cause and they again finished near the bottom of the league in the 1998 & 1999 seasons. The Starzz finally posted a winning record in 2000, but did not make the playoffs. In 2001, the Utah Starzz made it to the playoffs for the first time, but they were quickly swept in the first round by the Sacramento Monarchs. In 2002, the Starzz made it to the playoffs again, and this time beat the Houston Comets in the Western Conference Semifinals 2 games to 1. Their playoff run ended in the Western Finals, however, as they were swept aside by the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Sparks.

[edit] Relocation to San Antonio

When the NBA divested itself of all of its WNBA francises at the end of the 2002 season, the Utah Jazz ownership did not wish to retain owenship of the Starzz. The Starzz then looked for local Utah potential buyers, but none were found. After months of looking, the franchise would have to be sold to an out-of-town group or fold. This resulted in the franchise being sold to Peter Holt, the owner of the San Antonio Spurs, and relocating to San Antonio, Texas. The team's name was changed to the San Antonio Silver Stars and would change its team colors to the silver and black motif used by the Spurs.

[edit] The San Antonio Silver Stars (2003-Present)

Immediately after moving, the new Silver Stars made major roster moves, as they traded star Natalie Williams along with Coretta Brown to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Sylvia Crawley and Gwen Jackson. After losing seasons in 2003 and 2004, the team then traded away star Margo Dydek.

For the first four seasons (2003-2006) after moving to San Antonio, the franchise was unable to change its old losing trend and did not make the playoffs, in sharp contrast to their current NBA counterpart, the San Antonio Spurs. From 1997-2002, the Utah Starzz had a record of 87-99. From 2003-2006, the San Antonio Silver Stars record was 41-88.

The 2007 season brought a lot of change for the Silver Stars. They acquired stars Becky Hammon, Ruth Riley, and Sandora Irvin in trades, selected Helen Darling in Charlotte Sting's dispersal draft, drafted Camille Little in the second round, signed Erin Buescher during the off-season, and retained key players, such as Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Vickie Johnson, Shanna Crossley, Kendra Wecker, and Sophia Young. The new-look Silver Stars became an instant contender in the Western Conference.

On August 4, 2007 the Silver Stars clinched their first playoff berth since the franchise relocated to San Antonio in 2003. In the first round, the Silver Stars were matched up against the Sacramento Monarchs. After losing game 1 in Sacramento, the Silver Stars would win games 2 and 3 to advance to the Western Finals. The Silver Stars faced off against a strong Phoenix Mercury team, which had the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Silver Stars would lose Game 1 at home 102-100 on a controversial call by ref Lisa Mattingly. Mattingly called a foul on Shanna Crossley with 2.1 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 100. Replay showed that Crossley made no contact with Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter. However, Pondexter was sent to the line and made both free throws and Crossley's half-court shot to win the game nearly went in. On September 1, 2007 the Silver Stars' season came to an end after the Stars lost Game 2 98-92 in Phoenix.

[edit] Season-by-season records

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win–Loss %

Season W L  % Playoffs Results
Utah Starzz
1997 7 21 .250
1998 8 22 .267
1999 15 17 .469
2000 18 14 .563
2001 19 13 .594 Lost First Round Sacramento 2, Utah 0
2002 20 12 .625 Won First Round
Lost Conference Finals		 Utah 2, Houston 1
Los Angeles 2, Utah 0
San Antonio Silver Stars
2003 12 22 .353
2004 9 25 .265
2005 7 27 .206
2006 13 21 .382
2007 20 14 .588 Won First Round
Lost Conference Finals		 San Antonio 2, Sacramento 1
Phoenix 2, San Antonio 0
2008 0 0 .000
Totals 148 208 .416
Playoffs 4 8 .333

Stats updated September 1, 2007

[edit] Players of note

[edit] Hall of Famers

none

[edit] Retired numbers

none

[edit] Former players

[edit] Current roster

San Antonio Silver Stars
Current Roster
Head Coach: Dan Hughes Edit
Pos. No. Name College/Country
G-F 24 Flag of the United States Morenike Atunrase Texas A&M
G 7 Flag of the United States Erin Buescher The Masters College
G 5 Flag of the United States Shanna Crossley Tennessee
G 30 Flag of the United States Helen Darling Penn State
G 25 Flag of the United States Becky Hammon Colorado State
F 50 Flag of the United States Sandora Irvin TCU
G-F 55 Flag of the United States Vickie Johnson Louisiana Tech
G Flag of France Edwige Lawson France
C 00 Flag of the United States Ruth Riley Notre Dame
C 12 Flag of Belgium Ann Wauters Belgium
F 33 Flag of the United States Sophia Young Baylor
(IL) - Inactive List

[edit] Coaches and others

Head Coaches:

  • Denise Taylor (1997)
  • Frank Layden (1998)
  • Frank Williams (1999 - 2001)
  • Candi Harvey (2001 - 2003)
  • Shell Dailey (2003), interim
  • Dee Brown (2004)
  • Vonn Read (2004), interim
  • Shell Dailey (2004), interim
  • Dan Hughes (2005 - present)

[edit] External links

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