Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley have heated exchange at Final Four as South Carolina beats UConn for title game berth

PHOENIX – In the lead up to UConn’s stunning loss to South Carolina at the Final Four on Friday, Geno Auriemma insisted that he’s tried “really, really hard” to avoid a personal beef with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley despite how high profile their coaching rivalry has become over the years.

After what transpired in the closing seconds of Staley’s 62-48 triumph, it’s safe to say that’s a wash. Auriemma initiated a heated exchange between the pair with a tenth of a second remaining before storming off the court before the final buzzer, which Staley suggested afterward had something to do with a perceived snub of the UConn coach that occurred before the game. 

Of course, videos of the exchange only took mere moments to spread like wildfire on social media. A Final Four that was expected to be a coronation for Auriemma and UConn will instead be largely remembered for his actions as it became clear his team wouldn’t be repairing as national champions, in large part because of their own lack of execution and inability to make shots down the stretch. 

Auriemma’s explanation aligned with Staley’s interpretation, although the UConn coach insisted that the pregame meetup is a longstanding tradition between opposing Final Four coaches.

“I mean, for 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “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?  They announce it on the loud speaker.  I waited there for like three minutes.  So it is what it is.”

Defense Talks

Staley, understandably, didn’t want any of Auriemma’s antics to overshadow the masterclass her program put on with the entire country watching. Entering the weekend, the national consensus was that UConn was going to cruise to yet another championship. In reality, South Carolina’s performance and Staley’s coaching job 

“You can ask Geno (about it),” Staley said. “He’s the one that initiated the conversation.  I don’t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today … UConn was a really well-oiled machine.  If you don’t have disruption and consistent disruption, you allow them to play as freely as they want to play and shoot as freely as they shoot.”

Consistent disruption would be an understatement. Raven Johnson registered a signature defensive performance in her last national semifinal as a Gamecock, squaring up with National Player of the Year and a much larger Sarah Strong in the first half before dialing in on likely No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Azzi Fudd in the second half. And where Johnson wasn’t, Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot were. 

Strong finished with 12 points but struggled with a 4-of-16 shooting clip from the field, while Fudd made just 3-of-15 attempts overall and shot 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Perhaps most important was that South Carolina stifled UConn’s ball movement-heavy offense entirely, allowing just 15 assists on 19 made field goals. For context, UConn averages 23.4 assists and over 30 made field goals per game. 

“Our whole objective was to get them to shoot as inefficiently as possible,” Staley said. “Make them put the ball on the floor, don’t give them as many catch-and-shoot opportunities … We made it really difficult for them to get clean looks.  We made them put the ball on the floor.  That’s disruption to UConn, because they like they’re a passing team, they like to assist. If they’re allowed to play that way throughout an entire game, they win.”

First World Problems

As a result of Staley’s gameplan and her team’s execution, UConn’s 54-game winning streak and repeat bid is now abruptly over. And despite entering the weekend as overwhelming favorites, the Huskies will depart without cutting down the nets for the seventh time in their last eight Final Four appearances. In Auriemma’s eyes, however, that just comes with the territory of coming so often. 

“We’ve been to 25 Final Fours since 1991,” Auriemma said.  “25 out of 36.  I was telling my players that up until last year, I had lost more times in the Final Four than I had won, that there’s no stigma, there’s no stain in losing ’cause you have to be in this.  If you’re going to be in this enough times, you’re going to lose enough times  The motivation is to keep coming back here and trying to win it again.  Once you get here, you have to understand that there’s a high probability that you’re going to lose.  You can’t be afraid of that.”

But as much as Auriemma has done to keep his decades-long dynasty near the top, it’s Staley and South Carolina who will play in a third consecutive title game and fourth in five years. And it’s those Gamecocks who will go down as the undisputed program of the decade with a win on Sunday.