The NCAA women’s basketball Final Four game between the UConn Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks exploded into a fiery postgame moment when the two coaches met to shake hands after the game.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma approached South Carolina coach Dawn Staley after the Gamecocks took down the Huskies, 62-48, on Friday, April 3, to advance to the final — a moment typically reserved for a respectful exchange.
On Friday, that exchange quickly went south.
Auriemma, 72, was seen talking animatedly to Staley, 55, during the pair’s postgame greeting, to which Staley responded triumphantly. Suddenly, Auriemma and Staley were going back-and-forth in a tense moment.
The two legendary coaches were quickly separated while Staley continued to chirp at Auriemma as he made his way off the court.
“I will beat Geno’s a**,” Staley said, according to a video on social media.
Auriemma claimed the incident stemmed from a pregame moment, where he claimed Staley did not participate in the traditional pregame handshake. Videos from before the game show the two shaking hands on the sideline.
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “The protocol is before the game you meet at half court. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at half court and they shake hands, correct? … I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”
The 12-time NCAA champion — who added that he and Staley “don’t have a lot in common” — did credit Staley for building South Carolina into a women’s basketball powerhouse, adding that he has a “tremendous amount of respect” for Staley.
His frustrations were seemingly building throughout the game, blowing over in a sideline interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the third quarter.
“They’ve been beating the s*** out of our guys down there the entire game,” Auriemma said. “I’m not making excuses, because we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.”
He also commented on Staley’s actions towards the officials, saying she “calls the referees some names you don’t want to hear.”
“I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard,” Auriemma said after the game. “I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed. So I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard, that some people are allowed to talk to officials like that and other people are not. That’s it.”
Staley, in her postgame press conference, refused to comment on the incident with Auriemma.
“You can ask Geno the question,” Staley said. “He’s the one that initiated the conversation. I don’t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today.”
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