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UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma showed regret for his action at the end of Friday's Final Four game against South Carolina where he and Dawn Staley got into a heated discussion.
He began to speak to her aggressively, before the conversation devolved and quickly escalated into a visible shouting match. Auriemma said after the game he was upset that Staley had apparently not shaken his hand before the game (the two were seen shaking hands pregame, but Auriemma said he waited several minutes before seeing Staley).
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma watches a play late in the second half of a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA college basketball tournament against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 27, 2026. (LM Otero/AP Photo)
"There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina," Auriemma said in a statement posted to social media.
"It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them."
Staley addressed the incident in an interview with ESPN immediately afterward.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA college basketball tournament against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
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"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."
Meanwhile, Auriemma expressed displeasure with Staley and the referees during an in-game interview on ESPN.
"Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee 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.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship," he said to Holly Rowe.
After the game, Auriemma declined to elaborate on the incident.
Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks argues with Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the second half of an NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 3, 2026. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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"I said what I had to say and... nothing... nothing," he said when asked what happened with Staley, refusing to tell reporters 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."
South Carolina ended UConn's perfect season in what was a rematch from last year's national championship that the Huskies won. The loss ended UConn's 54-game winning streak dating back to last season.
Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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