Dawn Staley has done it again, taking the South Carolina Gamecocks to another national title game. This came after they ended UConn’s undefeated streak in the Final Four round on Friday. In the closing moments of the 62-48 South Carolina victory, Auriemma approached Staley, and while shaking her hand, all hell broke loose when he initiated an unfriendly verbal back-and-forth.
Staley had to be restrained by her staff, as she was heard yelling that she would fight the UConn coach if she had to. During the game, the Huskies’ head coach accused Staley of misbehaving on the sidelines, calling referees improper names. Auriemma complained in the game’s aftermath about the officiating and the physical play the Gamecocks put on his players.
Speaking with the reporters at Saturday’s press conference, it was clear that the incident was still clear in the mind of the South Carolina coach, as she said:
“No distractions at this time… I grew up in the projects of North Philly. 215, 267 area code. Nothing can derail us, or me, from staying with the task at hand.”
Geno Auriemma apologizes to Dawn Staley and South Carolina
It seems the authorities at Storrs took notice of the incident, as Auriemma released a statement on Saturday, apologizing for his behavior in the aftermath of the Final Four defeat to South Carolina.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in a statement issued through the school. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. 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,” he added.
This was a stark departure from what he told the press on Friday, when he said there was virtually no relationship between him and Dawn Staley and that they had nothing in common as coaches.
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