The Final Four loss against the South Carolina Gamecocks triggered a heated confrontation in the postgame handshake line between Dawn Staley and UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma.
When the final seconds were winding down, both coaches walked towards each other for a possible handshake. However, Auriemma didn’t extend his hand and instead said something to Staley, which made her angry, resulting in a confrontation that needed to be broken up.
In the 62-48 loss, Auriemma was upset with the physical play South Carolina employed and not getting the calls from the officials. But there was something else that prompted the upsetting moment between the two.
Auriemma accused Staley of not greeting him before the game, which is customary in college basketball.
“The protocol is, before the game, you meet at halfcourt, anybody ever see that before?” Auriemma said “The two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands… they announce it on the loud speaker. I waited there for like three minutes.”
However, Staley denied Auriemma’s accusation.
“I have no idea. But I’mma let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity,” Staley said. “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 didn’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.”
The Gamecocks’ head coach was actually correct and they did have a pregame handshake. Overtime’s Instagram page shared it among fans, which means Auriemma was either lying or didn’t know that the handshake happened.
Under the comments section, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson, who played under Staley when she was playing for South Carolina, slammed Auriemma after being caught in a lie.
“Pls be fr 😭” she commented. (Internet slang for “Please be for real”)
Geno Auriemma Unhappy With Final Four Officiating in Loss vs South Carolina
In his post-game reaction, Geno Auriemma also called out the foul disparities, partly blaming Dawn Staley for it. He complained his team wasn’t getting calls, while alleging that Staley struck fear in the official’s mind.
“There were six fouls called that (third) quarter, all of ’em against us,” Auriemma told ESPN. “And they’ve been beating the s– out of our guys down there the entire game. Now I’m not making excuses because we haven’t been able to make a shot, but this is ridiculous. Their coach rants and raves on the sideline, and calls the referees some names you don’t wanna hear. And now we got six to zero, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey and (the refs) say, ‘I didn’t see it.'”
Despite Auriemma’s accusation, Staley is playing it lightly, saying it happens in the heat of the moment. She also asked reporters to ask Auriemma the questions regarding the dispute, as she wasn’t the one who initiated it.
Nevertheless, moving on, Staley’s South Carolina will play in the national championship game.
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