Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley have heated exchange after Gamecocks upset Huskies

College basketballGeno Auriemma, Dawn Staley have heated exchange after Gamecocks upset HuskiesIn the national semifinal, South Carolina beat UConn, 62-48, to end the Huskies' undefeated season and their chances of repeating as national champions. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks and head coach Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies exchange words during the fourth quarter in the Final Four, just before the Gamecocks finished their upset of the Huskies.Christian Petersen / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 3, 2026, 10:10 PM EDTBy Rohan NadkarniTwo of women’s basketball’s biggest names had a heated exchange in the waning moments of a Final Four classic on Friday.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In the final seconds of No. 1 South Carolina’s 62-48 upset over No. 1 Connecticut, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley traded words at midcourt and had to be separated. “I have no idea,” Staley said to ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game when asked what angered Auriemma. “But [I’ll] 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.”Staley added: “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.”ESPN's broadcast showed footage of Staley appearing to shake Auriemma’s hand before the game, though it was brief.When asked about the exchange postgame, Auriemma didn’t elaborate: “I said what I said, and obviously she didn’t like it. I just told the truth.”Auriemma was not only fired up after the game. During an interview with Rowe before the fourth quarter, he ripped the game’s officiating, declaring the free-throw disparity “ridiculous.” He also imp...