South Carolina ended UConn's 54-game winning streak with a 62-48 victory in the women's NCAA Tournament semi-final on Friday night, but the game was overshadowed by a tense postgame exchange between coaches Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma.
As the two met near the scorer's table with 0.1 seconds left, Auriemma appeared to initiate a heated verbal exchange. Staley responded, and assistant coaches intervened before the final inbound. Auriemma then headed for the tunnel without shaking hands with South Carolina players or coaches, while Staley shook hands with UConn staff.
Staley told ESPN she was unaware of any wrongdoing. 'I'm of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did,' she said. 'I guess he thought I didn't shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I went down there pre-game, shook everybody on his staff's hand. I don't know what he came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.'
Auriemma cited a pre-game handshake delay as the reason for his frustration. 'The protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt... I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is,' he said. 'I said what I said. And, obviously, she didn't like it. I just told the truth.'
On the court, UConn's All-America duo of Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd struggled, combining for 20 points on 7-of-31 shooting. Ta'Niya Latson led South Carolina with 16 points, and Agot Makeer added 14. The Gamecocks will now advance to the national championship game.
