Layden adds that the front office is trying to address a disappointing attendance, most likely from a marketing stand-point, and he says, "as an organization, we've tried to stay patient and tried not to panic."

Taking vacation seems anti-panic.

As for coach Denise Taylor, 9-30 in 11/4 seasons with the Starzz, she seemed more relaxed than usual at Wednesday's practice before the Starzz took off for Los Angeles and tonight's game at the Forum against the Sparks. She was into "building on last night's game" and the positives of playing hard without making many turnovers (though the ones that were made were critical), of spreading the floor to open up the middle game of Fran Harris, Baranova and Dydek and being patient enough to make the extra pass.

"I've got to stay up, and I'm going to stay up because this team has a lot of potential," Taylor said. "You wish things were all peaches and roses. But tough times go away; tough people hang in there. I'm tough, and this team is tough."

Dydek and Baranova (career-high 17 rebounds) spent Tuesday night altering the offense of the champions and their marquee players, Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.

Cooper is the reigning and current WNBA scoring champ. She came into the DC scoring 25.1 points on 51 percent accuracy. Against Utah's towers, she scored 27, but she was 8-for-25, and who knows how many shots she didn't take as Utah's guards coerced her to the baseline where Dydek took over, forcing high-arch misses and passes back outside. Swoopes averages 16 ppg and 42 percent shooting. She had 17 but was 6-for-15. She also was enticed to go where Dydek or Baranova stood tall. Thompson (14.9, 54 percent averages) was 2-for-15.

"We played a great team, and we had a chance to win. That's encouraging," Taylor says.