Women's basketball growing in Utah

Editor's note: This is the fifth of a seven-part series exploring the state of basketball in Utah.

They stood — young and old, grinning and crying — with posters thanking the players for their effort and their example. They wiped away tears and simultaneously cheered as the Utah Starzz left town in December of 2002.

The final party was just a couple thousand die-hard fans who were devastated when Larry H. Miller announced that the six-year old women's professional team, the Utah Starzz, was moving to San Antonio. He said the team had lost about a million dollars a year and, as a businessman, he couldn't afford to keep the team in Utah.

It was understandable, even if for women's basketball fans, it was also disappointing.

Since then, the sport of women's basketball has only increased in popularity. There are more high school-age girls playing, and there are more club programs, even if they still don't compete yet with the organizational structure of club volleyball and soccer.

"What I've noticed is that women's basketball has improved," said Natalie Williams, an Olympic Gold medalist who played for the Starzz for three years, followed by three years in Indiana. "They're playing all year-round here. I have seen huge improvements at every level. No longer are there just four great teams in the state."

What the state lost when the Starzz left was the opportunity for girls to see — up close and personal — what a female professional athlete looked, as well as played, like.

Many high school coaches said back in 2002 that it actually helped inspire and encourage young girls to play basketball at higher levels.

But despite the love the Starzz felt from a small group of loyal fans, they couldn't turn a profit, and some don't see that ever happening in Utah. Consider that in the first three years of the Starzz's existence, the attendance hovered around an average of 6,000 paid attendance. In its last couple years, the numbers were more like 3,700 per game, despite the team's impressive record, which took them to the Western Conference Finals.

"I thought it was a great family experience," said Williams, who is a Taylorsville alum and coaches girls basketball at Skyline High School. "It wasn't expensive, and it was a lot of fun. The fans were great. They loved it. I would love to see it come back."

Local women can still play professionally — BYU and Mountain View High alum Erin Thorn earned a spot on a WNBA roster, as well as supplementing her income overseas.

But it is a more distant dream for girls playing today.