The Final Four clash between Geno Auriemma’s Huskies and Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks was chaotic, to say the least. The game had several forgettable moments, which everyone involved would like to move on from.
The heated exchange between Auriemma and Staley at the end of the game was arguably the worst thing that happened tonight. Two of the most successful and professional coaches, going at each other, was disappointing to witness.
Even during the game, we had several moments that players and coaches will look back at and won’t feel proud about. At the post-game press conference, Auriemma addressed some of the things that happened on the floor.
He had a problem with how the refs ignored Sarah Strong’s jersey being ripped.
“I don’t have any regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe. Why would I?” Auriemma said. “I’ve been coaching a long time, I’ve never had a kid have to change their jersey cause somebody ripped it, and the officials said, ‘I didn’t see it.’ There are a lot of things that happened in that game.”
Auriemma’s claim about Strong’s jersey being ripped wasn’t entirely wrong. Her jersey was ripped, and she had to change it on the sidelines in the middle of the game. However, that’s not the whole truth.
Fans have posted videos online where Strong can be seen ripping her own jersey.
“Sarah Strong actually rips the jersey herself,” the announcer can be heard saying in the video.
As per Auriemma, Strong didn’t rip her own jersey.
“She didn’t make a mistake. She said it was mistake … I’m just saying that there wasn’t a single foul call on us in the third quarter … you mean to tell me there was never a time when she got fouled?” he said.
It’s still unclear if the jersey was torn a little bit by an opponent, and Strong decided to rip it apart and change it. There could be several reasons why she would do that in that scenario.
Geno Auriemma on the Handshake Protocol
Another issue that Auriemma raised during the post-game press conference was Staley allegedly not shaking hands with him before the game. Coach Geno said that it’s a protocol that everyone follows as a sign of respect.
He claimed that he stood in the middle of the court for three minutes, and Staley didn’t do her part.
“The protocol is, before the game, you meet at halfcourt, anybody ever see that before? The two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands… they announce it on the loud speaker. I waited there for like three minutes,” Auriemma said.
The bottom line is that the Gamecocks won 62-48 to advance to the Championship game on Sunday, while the Huskies were handed their first loss of the season.
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