- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,130,247
- Reaction score
- 59
A testy, hard-fought Final Four meeting between UConn and South Carolina spilled onto the sidelines of the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Minutes after Huskies coach Geno Auriemma blasted officials and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley for what he described as a discrepancy in fouls, the two coaches got into a heated confrontation in the waning moments of South Carolina's 62-48 win.
REQUIRED READING: South Carolina upsets UConn, ends 54-game win streak to advance to championship
ESPN cameras caught the two briefly shaking hands before Auriemma made some comments at Staley. That ignited a brief shouting match between the two, with assistant coaches and officials needing to get between the two women's basketball stalwarts.
Immediately following South Carolina's win in the Final Four, cameras captured Auriemma heading toward the UConn locker room without getting in the handshake line again with South Carolina's coaches and players.
Speaking after the game with ESPN's Holly Rowe, Staley said she had no idea what prompted Auriemma's outburst against her.
"I have no idea, but I'm going to 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 we came with after the game, but hey sometimes things get heated. We move on."
ESPN cameras did show the two coaches met briefly in pregame, with Staley hugging Auriemma and several members of the UConn women's basketball team.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Auriemma blasted officiating and Staley in particular after his team was called for six fouls. His rant came after one of his best players, Sarah Strong, suffered a ripped jersey on a last-second layup attempt before the quarter ended.
"There was six fouls called that quarter. All of them on us," Auriemma told Rowe. "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 refs some names you don't want to hear. ... Come on man, this is for the national championship."
Regardless, Staley said she's not going to let her and Auriemma's confrontation get in the way of her players' performance.
"I'm super proud of our kids," Staley said. "I'm not going to let any incident take anything away from the performance on the floor."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Geno Auriemma refuses Dawn Staley handshake after UConn Final Four loss
Continue reading...
Minutes after Huskies coach Geno Auriemma blasted officials and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley for what he described as a discrepancy in fouls, the two coaches got into a heated confrontation in the waning moments of South Carolina's 62-48 win.
REQUIRED READING: South Carolina upsets UConn, ends 54-game win streak to advance to championship
ESPN cameras caught the two briefly shaking hands before Auriemma made some comments at Staley. That ignited a brief shouting match between the two, with assistant coaches and officials needing to get between the two women's basketball stalwarts.
Immediately following South Carolina's win in the Final Four, cameras captured Auriemma heading toward the UConn locker room without getting in the handshake line again with South Carolina's coaches and players.
Speaking after the game with ESPN's Holly Rowe, Staley said she had no idea what prompted Auriemma's outburst against her.
"I have no idea, but I'm going to 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 we came with after the game, but hey sometimes things get heated. We move on."
ESPN cameras did show the two coaches met briefly in pregame, with Staley hugging Auriemma and several members of the UConn women's basketball team.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Auriemma blasted officiating and Staley in particular after his team was called for six fouls. His rant came after one of his best players, Sarah Strong, suffered a ripped jersey on a last-second layup attempt before the quarter ended.
"There was six fouls called that quarter. All of them on us," Auriemma told Rowe. "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 refs some names you don't want to hear. ... Come on man, this is for the national championship."
Regardless, Staley said she's not going to let her and Auriemma's confrontation get in the way of her players' performance.
"I'm super proud of our kids," Staley said. "I'm not going to let any incident take anything away from the performance on the floor."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Geno Auriemma refuses Dawn Staley handshake after UConn Final Four loss
Continue reading...
