South Carolina’s stunning win over UConn marred by Dawn Staley-Geno Auriemma altercation
The Gamecocks' 62-48 win sent Staley to her fifth title game. The end was marred by Auriemma angrily confronting Staley over a perceived slight, after he'd criticized the refs all night.
PHOENIX — There were whispers here over the last few days that maybe South Carolina could beat Connecticut.
Maybe it would matter that they hadn’t yet played each other this season. Maybe Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot would play enough defense, and Edwards and Ta’Niya Latson would score a lot, and the Huskies would miss a few shots that they normally don’t, and so on.
Those whispers became a mighty roar on Friday night.
A ferocious defensive effort by the Gamecocks combined with stunningly poor shooting by the Huskies produced a 62-48 South Carolina win, ending UConn’s undefeated season at 38-0 and sending Dawn Staley to her fifth national championship game.
The Gamecocks will play UCLA in Sunday’s final (3:30 p.m., 6abc), after the Bruins held off Texas’ late rally to win, 51-44. Star center Lauren Betts led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
South Carolina’s win also produced fireworks between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley. As the final seconds expired, Auriemma, who had been critical of the referees all night — including in a TV interview with ESPN after the third quarter — had some heated words with Staley in the handshake line. Staley took exception, and both head coaches’ assistants pulled their bosses away.
In an ESPN interview after the game, Staley said she had “no idea” what set him off.
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“But I’m going to let you know this: I’m of integrity,” she continued. “So if I did something wrong to Geno, I have no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. … But hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”
Asked about the incident in her postgame news conference, Staley took the high road.
“You can ask Geno the question,” she said. “I don’t want what happened there to dampen what happened today.”
Asked about Auriemma’s ESPN interview, she also said “that’s a Geno question.”
When Auriemma’s turn came in his postgame news conference, he said: “I said what I had to say and — nothing. Nothing.”
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His terseness did not last. Asked if he had any regrets about what he said in that ESPN interview, he said he did not.
“I don’t have any regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe,” he said. “Why would I? I’ve been coaching a long time. I’ve never had a kid have to change her jersey because somebody ripped it and the official said I didn’t see it.”
The player in question was Sarah Strong, and Auriemma later acknowledged she ripped it herself. But then he admitted the handshake protocol — they did in fact shake hands before tipoff — was indeed part of the matter.
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching, and I’ve been [to] 25 Final Fours, and the protocol is before the game you meet at half court. … And I waited there for like three minutes,” he said. “So it is what it is.”
Asked if he’d reveal exactly what he said to Staley, Auriemma declined.
“Why would I say it?” he said. “I said what I said, and obviously she didn’t like it. I just told the truth.”
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But he seemed to take the bait on a question about Staley’s own complaints to the officials.
“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed,” he 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, that was pretty frustrating.”
He quickly added that he did not believe Staley should have been ejected, saying: “It’s not my place to judge whether any coach should ever get tossed, and I’m not suggesting that should have happened tonight at all. Not at all.”
How the game went
As for the game action, it was close throughout, starting with a 15-15 tie at the end of the first quarter. South Carolina played the last 8 minutes, 30 seconds of the second quarter with Raven Johnson on the bench with two fouls. But the Gamecocks led 21-16 at one point, before the Huskies turned their own defense up and took a 26-24 lead into the locker room.
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This was not a game for aesthetics, not least because South Carolina knew it couldn’t be. The Gamecocks’ best chance was to make it a defensive slugfest.
Auriemma knew it too, which is why he had his hands on his head just over four minutes into the third quarter. UConn was 13-for-36 from the field at that point, and just 1-for-11 from three-point range. It finished 6-for-21 from long range and 19-of-61 overall.
When Agot Makeer put South Carolina up 36-28 with 5:25 to go in the period, the eight-point margin was the biggest deficit the Huskies had faced all season.
That record fell a few minutes later, when the Gamecocks took a 40-30 lead. The ball kept refusing to go in for UConn, until Kayleigh Heckel’s three-pointer made it 40-33. Right on cue, that launched a 9-0 Huskies run, with Blanca Quiñonez and Azzi Fudd also connecting from long range.
It was 44-39 at the end of the third quarter, and it felt like anyone’s game. And when UConn got to within 46-44 with 6:37 left, it felt like the Huskies had momentum.
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But then the lid shut on the basket again. Makeer hit a big three to put South Carolina up 51-44 with 5:53 to play, and Latson made it 57-47 from the free throw line with 1:45 left. At the other end, one Strong three-pointer was UConn’s only made field goal in the last 6:36 of the game.
Latson led all scorers with 16 points, while Makeer had 14. Strong led UConn with a mere 12, and Fudd was held to 3-of-15 shooting in her last college game.
It was the first time the Huskies were held under 50 points since the 2022 national championship game. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that they lost that game to South Carolina.
