The Utah Starzz of the Women's NBA attended the Jazz vs. Rockets playoff game Tuesday night where they were introduced to the Delta Center crowd at halftime. Today they got down to serious business themselves.
The Starzz opened training camp for their inaugural season this morning at the Franklin Quest Wellness Center. A dozen players are in camp for coach Denise Taylor's club. One more - 6-5 center Elena Baranova - will join her new teammates to bring the number up to 13. Baranova, who was second in the Atlanta Olympic Games in both scoring and rebounding, is still with the Russian National Team for a few more days, but will join the Starzz next week.The Starzz will practice twice a day through June 7 before scaling back prior to the 28-game regular season. Utah, one of eight teams in the new league, will start the year by hosting the Sacramento Monarchs on June 21.
Ten players are on the Starzz's active roster: Baranova, Debra Carter (6-0 guard/forward), Megan Copain (5-10 guard/forward), LeJuana "Lady" Hardmon (5-10 guard), Dena Head (5-10 guard), Jessie Hicks (6-4 forward/center), Wendy Palmer (6-2 forward), Tammi Reiss (5-6 guard), Raegan Scott (6-4 forward/center) and Kim Williams (5-6 guard).
Three additional players are on the "practice squad." They are Karen Booker, Jessica Jackson and Greta Koss. They will practice with the team, but will not be available to play in games.