South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley was heated in an interview after the first quarter of a huge game in Austin against the No. 4 Texas Longhorns.
The target? The referees, who called 16 fouls in the first quarter. With the Gamecocks trailing 18-16 at the break, Staley made her feelings about the way the game was being officiated known.
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Maybe Staley was upset about the pace of the game on Super Bowl Sunday, as her Eagles play the Chiefs just four hours after the Gamecocks tipped off, or maybe she was just frustrated that her team couldn’t get into a rhythm.
Either way, Staley was heated.
“This is a great crowd. They came to see the players play, not the officials,” Staley said.
Staley was referencing the 16 total fouls called in a first quarter that took over 30 minutes of real time. The Gamecocks were called for nine, while the Longhorns were called for seven.
Staley’s ire didn’t seem to be directed at any potential ref bias, but rather the sheer amount of fouls called, a sentiment that seemed to be almost universal.
“I’m sure [Texas head coach Vic Schaefer] would agree,” Staley said.
Announcers Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco joked multiple times throughout the first half about the way the game was being officiated.
“I’m surprised you haven’t been called for a foul yet,” Lobo joked to Ruocco.
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When asked how her team would adjust to the pace of the game and the way it was being officiated, Staley was defiant.
“We’re not going to adjust,” Staley said.
For what it’s worth, it seems the officials adjusted. After 16 fouls in the first quarter, the teams were whistled for just six combined fouls in the second quarter in a game that picked up in both speed and intensity.
That being said, the officials called two questionable fouls at the end of the half, including a reach-in on South Carolina’s Chloe Kitts that caused outrage from Ruocco.
“See, there’s no reason to do that,” Ruocco said. “There’s not reason to call a ticky-tack reach-in on a 50-50 ball that was inconsequential to the outcome of the play.”
South Carolina trails 36-27 at the half, while each team has 11 fouls.
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