Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies’ March Madness run came to an end on Friday. They suffered a 62-48 loss at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks, bringing an end to their undefeated run this season.
One of the moments that stood out in this Final Four showdown was the heated exchange that took place between Auriemma and Dawn Staley. It got to a point where the UConn coach had to be separated from this quarrel by the referees and assistant coaches on the court.
After the game, Geno Auriemma was asked if he had Staley have a good relationship off the court, away from the rivalry. He also took a moment to praise her for her achievemnts at South Carolina.
“No, not really,” Auriemma said. “We don’t have a lolt in common. Dawn was my assistant on the Olympic team. And we’ve been coaching against each other for a long long time. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her for what she’s done at South Carolina.
“I remember when she got there, the program had basically fallen off the map. So, for her to take her program to take it where it is right now, I have a tremendous amount of respect for them.”
The incident between the two coaches took place with less than a second left in the game. Auriemma went over to shake hands with Dawn Staley. But it looked like he said something that did not sit well with her. The two went on a fiery verbal exchange while others tried to intervene and calm the situation.
After the game, Staley spoke about this situation during her interview with ESPN.
“I have no idea (what happened),” Staley said. “But I’mma let you know this, I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game.
“I don’t know — I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand. I don’t know what he came with after the game. But hey, sometimes, things get heated. We move on.”
Stephen A. Smith called out Geno Auriemma for verbal altercation with Dawn Staley
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was not happy with the way Geno Auriemma got into a verbal altercation with Dawn Staley during the closing moments of this Final Four game.
He heavily criticized the UConn coach on X and labeled it as a classless act.
“That was some straight B.S. from the GREAT Geno Auriemma. Never — ever — thought I’d see the day when the greatest woman’s college coach in history would go down so CLASSLESSLY!!! Horrible look, and should be called out for it.
“He got OUTCOACHED. Plain and simple. And gets in her face like she did something wrong to him instead of being gracious. Had Dawn Staley acted like that we would be all over her.”
South Carolina will face the UCLA Bruins in the season finale on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey – who is NCAAW’s highest-paid coach? Find out here
Edited by Priyam Hazarika