Franchise history San Antonio Stars

1 franchise history

1.1 utah starzz years (1997–2002)
1.2 relocation san antonio
1.3 stars fall short (2003–06)
1.4 picking things (2007–08)
1.5 struggling stars (2009–10)
1.6 stars align in san antonio (2011–2017)
1.7 relocation las vegas
1.8 uniforms

franchise history
the utah starzz years (1997–2002)

one of 8 original wnba teams, utah starzz (partially named after old aba team, utah stars, zz @ end utah jazz) never met same success (former) counterpart in nba, utah jazz. held distinction of having worst record in wnba in 1997 , first team select in 1998 wnba draft. selection, picked 7 ft. 2 in. center margo dydek, became tallest player in wnba history. unfortunately, pickup of dydek did little cause , again finished near bottom of league in 1998 & 1999 seasons. starzz posted winning record in 2000, did not make playoffs. in 2001, utah starzz made playoffs first time, swept in first round sacramento monarchs. in 2002, starzz made playoffs again, , time beat houston comets in western conference semifinals 2 games 1. playoff run ended in western finals, however, swept aside eventual champs, los angeles sparks.

relocation san antonio

when nba divested of of wnba franchises @ end of 2002 season, utah jazz ownership did not wish retain ownership of starzz. starzz looked local utah potential buyers, none found, leaving franchise choices of either being sold out-of-town investor(s) or folding.

the starzz avoided being folded when franchise sold peter holt (the owner of nba s san antonio spurs) , relocated san antonio, texas. team s name changed san antonio silver stars , change team colors silver , black motif used spurs.

the stars fall short (2003–06)

immediately after moving, new silver stars made major roster moves, traded star natalie williams along coretta brown indiana fever in exchange sylvia crawley , gwen jackson. after losing seasons in 2003 , 2004, team traded away star margo dydek.

for first 4 seasons (2003–2006) after moving san antonio, franchise unable change old losing trend , did not make playoffs, in sharp contrast current nba counterpart, san antonio spurs. 1997–2002, utah starzz had record of 87–99. 2003–2006, san antonio silver stars record 41–88.

picking things (2007–08)

the 2007 season brought lot of change silver stars. acquired stars becky hammon, ruth riley, , sandora irvin in trades, selected helen darling in charlotte sting s dispersal draft, drafted camille little in second round, signed erin buescher during off-season, , retained key players, such marie ferdinand-harris, vickie johnson, shanna crossley, kendra wecker, , sophia young. new-look silver stars became instant contender in western conference. on august 4, 2007 silver stars clinched first playoff berth since franchise relocated san antonio in 2003. in first round, silver stars matched against sacramento monarchs. after losing game 1 in sacramento, silver stars win games 2 , 3 advance western finals. silver stars faced off against strong phoenix mercury team, had number 1 seed in western conference. silver stars lose game 1 @ home 102–100 on controversial call ref lisa mattingly. mattingly called foul on shanna crossley 2.1 seconds left in game , score tied @ 100. replay showed crossley made no contact phoenix s cappie pondexter. however, pondexter sent line , made both free throws , crossley s half-court shot win game went in. on september 1, 2007 silver stars season came end after stars lost game 2 98–92 in phoenix.

heading 2008, silver stars regarded premiere contender , did not disappoint. after average start, stars seized control of western conference , rode best record in west, , #1 seed in playoffs. in first round, silver stars once again faced off against sacramento monarchs. unlike 2007, stars won game 1 on road, 85–78. monarchs prove pesky, spoiling potential clinch in game 2 crushing silver stars @ home 84–67. silver stars had win game 3 or face offseason of disappointment. in game, silver stars secure 14-point lead , seemed over. late rally monarchs, including last 7 points in regulation, sent game overtime. in overtime, silver stars clamped down , proved better team, defeating monarchs 86–81, advancing western conference finals second season in row. in west finals, stars faced resurgent los angeles sparks team. in game 1 in la, stars took lead, 11–0 run sparks half changed tempo of game , sparks took game 1 85–70. in game 2, silver stars blew 14-point lead in final quarter, sparks took one-point lead 1.3 seconds left. stars season on unless there miracle. fortunately stars, sophia young delivered 14-foot turnaround shot lift silver stars 67–66 game 2. came down game 3, trip wnba finals on line. 2 teams battled down stretch, stellar play of becky hammon, had 35 points , 4 crucial free throws, lift silver stars first wnba finals, defeating sparks 76–72. in wnba finals, silver stars faced detroit shock, making third wnba finals appearance in row. in game 1 @ home, silver stars fell behind early, tie game @ 69 2:15 left in 4th quarter. there shock took control once again , won game 77–69.

struggling stars (2009–10)

by time 2009 season opened, san antonio on struggling basis, being stuck in fourth place in west throughout year. however, silver stars started rise bit , later clinched playoff berth, despite sub-500 record of 15–19. after winning first game against phoenix mercury, silver stars unable recover , lost remaining 2 games lose series 2–1.

the 2010 season not different stars. finished unimpressive 14–20 record sneaked third seed of playoffs in below-average western conference. silver stars swept in first round of playoffs phoenix , clear changes needed.

stars align in san antonio (2011–2017)

in 2011, announced silver stars host 2011 wnba all-star game.

the silver stars started 2011 season 7–3 record, led return of former head coach dan hughes. along quality play becky hammon , sophia young, 3 rookies made silver stars roster in 2011. danielle robinson, danielle adams, , porsha phillips drafted in 2011. adams play named rookie of month june, beating out top draft picks maya moore , liz cambage.

in 2012 playoffs, silver stars lost in first round los angeles sparks. team miss playoffs in 2013. in 2014 playoffs, stars lose in first round minnesota lynx.

due renovations @ at&t center, stars played @ freeman coliseum 2015 season. 2016 season, stars moved at&t center after renovations arena completed.

relocation las vegas

the nba , wnba approved sale of stars mgm resorts international on october 17, 2017, intention of relocating team las vegas , playing @ mandalay bay events center starting in 2018 season.

uniforms

1997–2002: @ home, white blue , purple trim. starzz logo test on chest in purple. away home, teal white starzz logo text on chest , blue trim on sides. starzz logo u on right leg of shorts.
2003–2006: @ home, silver black trim. stars logo text on chest in black. away home, black silver trim. stars logo text on chest in white.
2007–2010: @ home, silver black stars down side. stars logo text on chest in black. away home, black silver stars down side. san antonio text on chest in white. player s names beneath numbers on of uniform.
2011–2013: part of move adidas s revolution 30 technology, silver stars made subtle changes such rounded numbers , team nickname on both uniforms. in 2013 season, numbers modified.
2014–2017: uniform sponsor h-e-b added, , stars script updated.




^ san antonio stars play 2015 home games @ freeman coliseum archived 2015-01-08 @ wayback machine.
^ http://www.foxsports.com/wnba/story/san-antonio-stars-moving-to-las-vegas-bought-by-mgm-resorts-101717