2002 Record 20-12, .750 (3rd in West) Points Scored 2418 (2nd overall, 2nd in West) Points Allowed 2344 (16th overall, 8th in West) Scoring Differential +2.3 (T5th overall, 4th in West) Offensive Efficiency 102.4 (3rd overall, 2nd in West) Defensive Efficiency 99.3 (10th overall, 6th in West) Possessions per 40 min. 73.2 (2nd overall, 2nd in West) What are these stats? Award Winners & Honorees All-Stars Marie Ferdinand Adrienne Goodson 2002 Draft Recap Rd. 1 – 11, Daneille Crockrom Rd. 1 – 14, LaNeishea Caufield Rd. 2 – 27, Andrea Gardner Rd. 3 – 43, Edmarie Lumbsley Rd. 4 – 59, Jaclyn Winfield Playoff History Two out of six years Last Appearance 2002, Lost in West Finals

The Utah Starzz improved its win total for the fifth consecutive season, finishing at 20-12 and upending the Houston Comets in the first round of the WNBA playoffs two games to one. In the Comets series, the Starzz held Houston to just 36.6 percent shooting from the field, including 29.2 percent in Game 1.

At the age of 35, Adrienne Goodson continued to stave off the hands of time earning her first All-Star nod while leading the Starzz in scoring (15.7) and grabbing a career-high 5.7 rebounds per game.

Ferdinand

Marie Ferdinand proved her rookie season was no fluke by averaging 15.3 points per game and hitting 47.4 percent of her shots from the field. She also made a living at the free throw line connecting on 132-of-171 (.772), up from 69-of-113 (.611) during her rookie campaign. That helped the Starzz set a WNBA record for most free throws made (643), scoring a league-high 30.4 percent of its points from the free throw line (Orlando was second at 23.8%).

Natalie Williams wasn’t as productive as she’s been in recent years. Entering the 2002 season, her career scoring average was 16.9 and her career field goal percentage was 50.0. In 2002, she averaged 11.3 points and hit just 43.5 percent of her field goal attempts. She also hasn’t been nearly as active getting to the free throw line over the past two seasons, averaging 133 trips in 2001 and 2002, after averaging 210 during her first two years in the WNBA.

The Starzz had the second worst turnover differential in the league last year behind the Detroit Shock. Utah forced 13.9 opponent turnovers per game yet committed 16.3 turnovers of its own.

When one thinks of the Starzz one typically thinks of rebounding and shot-blocking. However Utah was actually a below average defensive rebounding team in 2002, and even though they led the league in blocked shots (5.56), they also led the league in having their own shots blocked (4.66).

Head Coach Candi Harvey 2002 Starting Line-up G Jennifer Azzi G Marie Ferdinand C Margo Dydek F Natalie Williams F Adrienne Goodson Key 2002 Reserves G Semeka Randall

If one or more of San Antonio’s older players slides, who steps up to replace them? For all the flack the New York Liberty get for being an old team, Utah was actually the oldest team in the league last year when weighing for minutes played at 29.0 years of age. Entering the 2003 season, the Silver Stars starters from a year ago are Goodson (36), Jennifer Azzi (34), Williams (32), Margo Dydek (29) and Ferdinand (24). Nobody else on the roster played more than 269 minutes for the Starzz, although Semeka Randall logged 593 splitting time between Seattle and Utah.

Dydek

Will Margo Dydek ever fulfill the expectations of others? When you’re the tallest person on the floor by a half a foot, people expect you to dominate. Although she’s posted career averages of 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds while blocking an astronomical 3.25 shots per game, it’s not been enough to silence her detractors. Most perplexing is her ever-decreasing field goal percentage – Over the past four seasons, her accuracy from the floor has dropped from 49.8 percent to 44.5% to 44.0% to 43.6% a year ago.

Can the Silver Stars improve on the defensive end of the floor? They say defense wins championships, so if San Antonio is going to dethrone Los Angeles in 2003, it has to learn to D-up better than last year. More specifically, the Silver Stars need to stop sending the opposition to the free throw line so often – last year, Utah’s opponents shot a league-high 688 free throws, making a league-high 516. They also must do a better job on the defensive glass, and take better care of the basketball on offense. Both of these issues led to Utah opponents taking 156 more field goal attempts than the Starzz – the largest shot differential in the league.