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As two stalwarts of women's college basketball face off in Phoenix's Final Four, a few coaching titans are going at it as well.
Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks and Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies are locked in a tight battle in the fourth quarter, and Auriemma gave a shockingly fiery sideline interview at a point where South Carolina had 14 free throws to UConn's two.
REQUIRED READING: UConn vs. South Carolina live score updates: Women's Final Four highlights, how to watch
After Holly Rowe asked about Sarah Strong's ripped jersey, Auriemma replied: "There were six fouls called that quarter. All of them against us. They've been beating the (expletive) 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."
Auriemma then invoked Staley.
"Their coach (Staley) rants and raves on the sideline, and calls the referee some names you don't want to hear. And now we get six-to-zero, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey. Come on man. This is for the national championship," before turning away from the interview. Auriemma's tirade can be viewed here.
Auriemma and Staley are the two most recognizable coaches in women's basketball, and have had a mutual respect in the past. Indeed, when the Huskies dominated the Gamecocks in the 2025 national championships, Auriemma and Staley embraced after the game with Auriemma comically waving his arms.
With 0.1 seconds left in the game, Auriemma and Staley got into at halfcourt, with Staley telling Auriemma "don't do that!" repeatedly. After the game, Staley walked over to the UConn bench with her hands up while Auriemma stormed off the court without shaking hands.
"I have no idea," Staley told Rowe when she was asked what happened postgame. "But I'm going to let you know this, I'm of integrity. I'm of integrity. 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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn's Geno Auriemma rants about South Carolina fouling in Final Four
Continue reading...
Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks and Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies are locked in a tight battle in the fourth quarter, and Auriemma gave a shockingly fiery sideline interview at a point where South Carolina had 14 free throws to UConn's two.
REQUIRED READING: UConn vs. South Carolina live score updates: Women's Final Four highlights, how to watch
After Holly Rowe asked about Sarah Strong's ripped jersey, Auriemma replied: "There were six fouls called that quarter. All of them against us. They've been beating the (expletive) 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."
Auriemma then invoked Staley.
"Their coach (Staley) rants and raves on the sideline, and calls the referee some names you don't want to hear. And now we get six-to-zero, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey. Come on man. This is for the national championship," before turning away from the interview. Auriemma's tirade can be viewed here.
Auriemma and Staley are the two most recognizable coaches in women's basketball, and have had a mutual respect in the past. Indeed, when the Huskies dominated the Gamecocks in the 2025 national championships, Auriemma and Staley embraced after the game with Auriemma comically waving his arms.
With 0.1 seconds left in the game, Auriemma and Staley got into at halfcourt, with Staley telling Auriemma "don't do that!" repeatedly. After the game, Staley walked over to the UConn bench with her hands up while Auriemma stormed off the court without shaking hands.
"I have no idea," Staley told Rowe when she was asked what happened postgame. "But I'm going to let you know this, I'm of integrity. I'm of integrity. 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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn's Geno Auriemma rants about South Carolina fouling in Final Four
Continue reading...
