South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is breaking her silence on her fiery interaction with UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
“It’s a little disheartening,” Staley said of the incident in a Saturday, April 4, press conference. “But it’s sports, and that happens. That’s why I’m gonna continue to focus on this team and winning a national championship.”
She added, “For me, no distractions at this time. Concentrating on winning a national championship.”
Staley and South Carolina earned a spot in the NCAA championship game after beating UConn in the Final Four matchup, 62-48, on Friday April 3, ending the Huskies’ undefeated season.
After the game, Auriemma approached Staley on the sidelines in what originally looked like the traditional postgame handshake between coaches, but the moment quickly turned sour.
Videos of the incident show Auriemma saying something to Staley, which visibly upset the Gamecocks coach, and the two started yelling back and forth. They eventually had to be separated as they walked to their respective locker rooms.
“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 alleged Staley did not participate in the traditional pregame handshake. Videos from before the game show the two shaking hands on the sideline.
In his postgame comments, Auriemma said that he and Staley “don’t have a lot in common,” but did credit Staley for building South Carolina into a women’s basketball powerhouse, saying that he has a “tremendous amount of respect” for Staley.
Staley, on Friday, refused to comment on the situation.
“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.”
The day after the scuffle, Auriemma released a statement apologizing to the South Carolina “staff and the team” for his actions, but notably did not mention Staley by name.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in the Saturday statement shared via X. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut.
He continued, “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
South Carolina will face the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA women’s basketball championship game on Sunday, April 5.
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