To reach the WNBA roster limit of 11 active players that had to be met by 3 p.m. Sunday, the Utah Starzz on Saturday afternoon placed post player Amy Herrig on injured reserve and released guard Krystyna Lara, who is at home in Poland recuperating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Teams are allowed only two players on the IR, and guard Jennifer Azzi (broken hand) is the other. Players on IR must miss at least three games. The Starzz's season opens Wednesday at Los Angeles, followed by a home game against Minnesota on Thursday in the Delta Center.
Herrig, a 6-foot-4 free-agent center from Iowa, where she led the Big Ten in rebounding and was a first-team all-conference player and an honorable mention Associated Press All-American, has missed much of the preseason with a sprained right ankle. She tried to play in a couple of exhibition games but kept reinjuring the ankle.
Coach Fred Williams said this extra time may allow her to get healthy and show better what she can do.
Lara, who was a Starzz rookie last season, would have missed the entire 2000 WNBA season with the torn ACL, which happened in February when she was playing with her club team in Poland. She is hoping to return in time to play for the Polish Olympic team in September. Williams said he did not know whether she will try to play in the WNBA next year.
In other Starzz news, the team announced that it will provide a 30-minute postgame concert by Warner Bros. recording artists F.A.T.E. (For All That's Endured), which will also sing the national anthem, after the home opener on Thursday. The game starts at 7 p.m. The female trio's self-titled debut album will be released on Tuesday.
Those wishing to attend the first game can stop at any Wasatch Front Phillips 66 station and get four free upper-bowl tickets, compliments of the sponsor.