Two of the biggest names in women’s basketball got into a heated exchange in the final moments of a Final Four classic Friday.
In the final seconds of No. 1 South Carolina’s 62-48 victory over No. 1 Connecticut, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley exchanged words at midcourt and had to be separated.
“I have no idea,” Staley told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game when asked what made Auriemma angry. “But [I’ll] let yourself know this: I have integrity. I have integrity. So if I had done something bad to Geno, I had no idea what I had done. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the start of the match.
Staley added: “I didn’t know, I went there before the game, I shook hands with everyone on his staff, I don’t know what he came up with after the game. But hey, sometimes things get heated, you move on.”
The ESPN broadcast showed footage of Staley appearing to shake Auriemma’s hand before the game, although it was brief.
Asked about the postgame exchange, Auriemma said it was customary for coaches to meet at half court before the game. A separate clip from the broadcast showed Auriemma waiting for Staley at a different time before the match.
“The protocol is before the game you assemble at half court,” Auriemma said. “The two coaches meet at half court and shake hands. They announce it over the loudspeaker. I waited there for about three minutes.”
He added: “I said what I said, and obviously she didn’t like it. I just told the truth.”
Auriemma wasn’t just excited after the game. In an interview with Rowe before the fourth quarter, he ripped the game’s officiating, declaring the free throw disparity “ridiculous.” He also suggested that Staley used inappropriate language with the referees but was not punished for it.
“There were 6 fouls called this quarter. All against us,” Auriemma said before the fourth. “It’s ridiculous. Their coach rambles and raves on the pitch, and insults the referees with names you don’t want to hear.”
Connecticut’s loss was the program’s first since February 2025. The Huskies entered the game on a 54-game winning streak. Connecticut won the national championship last year over Staley and South Carolina.
