PHOENIX — UConn coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina counterpart Dawn Staley engaged in a heated argument in the waning moments of the Gamecocks’ 62-48 upset victory over the Huskies in the women’s Final Four on Friday night.
With less than a second left in what had been a tense and physical game, Auriemma walked across the sideline toward Staley for what first appeared to be a customary postgame handshake. Instead, Auriemma confronted Staley, and things quickly escalated with both coaches angry.
As they shook hands and Staley patted Auriemma on the back, Auriemma began arguing with Staley. As they argued, their coaching staffs and the referees moved in to separate them. Auriemma later said he was displeased that Staley didn’t shake his hand during pregame coaches’ introductions. After the game officially concluded, Auriemma did not go through the handshake line and was the first to leave the court.
Asked about the altercation, Staley told ESPN, “I have no idea. 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 he came with after the game. But hey, sometimes things get heated, we move on.”
Auriemma declined to comment on what he said.
“Why would I say it? I said what I said. And obviously, she didn’t like it. I just told the truth,” he said in his postgame news conference. He said he had waited “three minutes” before the game for a handshake. The coaches shook hands when they first entered the court.
“I think you missed the point of what I’m talking about,” Auriemma said after a follow-up question about their pregame handshake. “I’d rather not go into it. … Anybody who has been to the NCAA Tournament, you know what I’m talking about.”
The loss spoiled the Huskies’ bid for a seventh undefeated championship season and ended a 54-game winning streak that dated back to Feb. 6, 2025.
Auriemma was already agitated when he spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the broadcast during a timeout at the end of the third quarter. During that interview, he expressed displeasure with Staley and the officiating.
“There were six fouls called that quarter, all of them against us,” Auriemma said. “And they’ve been beating the s— out of our guys down there the entire game. And I’m not making excuses because we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.
“Their coach ran some rage on the sideline and called the referees some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey. And they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ C’mon, man, this is the national championship.”
Asked about those comments after the game, the 12-time national championship-winning coach said he wanted to make sure there was no “double standard,” stating that he thought Staley crossed the line when addressing the referees.
“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed,” Auriemma said. “So I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard, that some people are allowed to talk to officials like that and other people are not. That’s it. So yeah, I was pretty frustrated.”
UConn star Sarah Strong, the women’s Player of the Year, went into a timeout needing to replace her No. 21 jersey with a blank No. 55 one. Though no rips were visible on the broadcast, Strong ripped most of her jersey down the middle out of frustration after missing a shot with no foul call.
“It was an accident,” Strong said after the game when asked about the ripped jersey. “I missed that shot. Ripped it by accident.”
Auriemma said that Strong didn’t rip her jersey on her own.
“I’m just saying there was not a single foul called on them in the third quarter,” Auriemma said. “I have a kid that’s one of the best players in the country and has got the ball a lot and is trying to get something done, and you mean to tell me there was never a time when she got fouled? Find that hard to believe.”
Sarah Strong had to switch to #55 after tearing her jersey 😳 pic.twitter.com/Hkh0ZVHEDc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2026
Auriemma said he had no regrets about his actions.
“Why would I? I’ve been coaching a long time, and I’ve never had somebody have to change their jersey because somebody ripped it,” he said. “There are a lot of things that happened in that game. Unless you’re on that sideline, you have no idea what’s happening on this sideline.
“No, I mean, for 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours. The protocol is before the game, you meet at halfcourt. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at halfcourt, and they shake hands, correct? Ever see it?”
South Carolina finished 18 of 22 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies finished 4 of 6. UConn also shot 31 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line.
UConn beat South Carolina 82-59 last season for the national championship. Auriemma holds a 9-7 advantage over Staley, but she has won two of the three Final Four meetings.
