It's rare that a team sets franchise records for most wins and most losses in the same season.
The Utah Starzz accomplished that Monday night when they lost their 22nd game in their final contest of 1998.There were two extra games in '98 because of WNBA expansion, and the Starzz split the difference, winning eight and losing 22, one more in each direction than their 7-21 first-year record. A .267 winning percentage to last year's .250.
And isn't that just what their season was like? A better group of players from the opening tip but not quite good enough to overcome league-wide improvement plus multiple injuries to Wendy Palmer, Elena Baranova and Tammi Reiss.
A team that seemed to progress in some little way in nearly every game but ended up shooting itself in the foot with other errors.
A step forward. A step back.
Rousing first halves. Dreadful second halves.
A new coach. Old habits.
Two two-game win streaks.
Two six-game losing streaks, one under Denise Taylor, one under Frank Layden.
Through it all, one truth emerged: It's an even rarer team that can suffer through an 8-22 record and then part feeling like the best of friends and anxious to all be back together again next season. This was a young and inexperienced WNBA team that didn't learn how to win but also didn't resort to pointing fingers or shifting blame.
Losing usually brings on jealousy and selfishness. "I haven't seen that," says Layden, who took over a 6-13 team on July 27 and finished 2-9 as he began the Starzz' makeover into a more professional, more focused outfit.
"I loved it," says guard Tricia Bader, a fourth-round draft choice, of her first WNBA season. Her playing time decreased from nine minutes under Taylor to three minutes under Layden. "I was a little disappointed in my game," she added.
"I have real fun," said WNBA No. 1 draft choice Margo Dydek, 7-foot-2, who returned to Poland Wednesday to start training immediately for Euro League play. "I will be more happy when we win more and have a better record, but I have fun each action (game). `Next year, we will be one of the best teams."
Dydek set WNBA shot-blocking records of 114 for a season, nine for a game and six for a half and tied Baranova for Utah's second-best scoring average at 12.9.
"We played hard, no matter what, and the team stayed together," said Palmer, Utah's best player in each of its two seasons. Slowed by a preseason broken toe, she came back with an outstanding final 18 games despite several other injuries. In those last 18 games, she averaged 17.5 points and 8.8 rebounds. Her season averages were 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds. She twice broke her own franchise scoring record with 30 and then 31 points.
"It was a great experience," said LaTonya Johnson, the third-round '98 draft choice. "Being on the losing side was sad, but I had a great time."
"Our team, as far as the players, is all close," says guard Chantel Tremitiere. "We have a lot of young players. It's like having a bunch of sisters.
"This is just the beginning," said Tremitiere. "I expect coach Layden to be here a long time."
"We're all in a relearning process," says Dena Head, "but there's nothing but a bright future." She predicts that even with all the same players, once Layden has them for a full training camp, the Starzz will be "an exciting team."
Tremitiere and Head are among five second-year WNBA players on the Starzz roster who must re-sign with the league this fall to continue into the 1999 season, the league's third year of operation. All WNBA contracts are two-year deals. Those who re-sign with the WNBA, which owns player contracts, will return to their '98 teams, unless those teams trade or waive them.
The other Starzz in that situation are Palmer, Baranova, Reiss, Kim Williams and Head, who all said Tuesday while cleaning out their lockers and waiting for season's-end meetings with Frank and Scott Layden that they plan to be back in Salt Lake City next May.
Reiss will stay in Utah and work in community relations and as a color analyst for the Jazz media. Tremitiere will either play with Dydek in Poland or take a position similar to Reiss's with the Utah organization. Olympia Scott, who just finished her rookie season, will remain in Utah in the off-season to work out with the team's strength and conditioning people. She and Al Richardson will marry Sept. 26 and then try to launch their own rap/hip-hop record label from here in Utah.
Erin Alexander, signed by Utah while Reiss was hurt, after being waived by Los Angeles, said she'll stay in town through Friday to see the scenery that she didn't have time to take in during the season. Like the two-year players, she must re-sign to play next year. She's confident a team will want her. She'll return to UC-Santa Barbara for her degree in psychology and for hoops training.
Williams, Utah's No. 4 scorer (7.6), came alive in the final 15 games (10.1 average) even though Layden took her out of the starting lineup because of turnover problems. "I fully can accept it," she said, adding she tried to make her time off the bench "quality time." Williams has thought of playing overseas but said her talk with the Laydens Tuesday may have inspired her to return to DePaul University.