PHOENIX — UConn coach Geno Auriemma issued an apology on Saturday morning after his heated exchange with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies’ Final Four loss, but he did not explicitly name Staley in the statement.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in the statement released by UConn. “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.

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“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.”

In the final seconds of the 62-48 loss in Phoenix, Auriemma approached Staley as the two walked toward midcourt for the post-game handshake when Auriemma stopped Staley to complain. She appeared to take exception to his comments, which he later said were a complaint about her not shaking his hand during pregame introductions.

Referees and assistant coaches moved in between them to defuse the exchange, and Auriemma left the court before players or other coaches, skipping the postgame handshake.

When Staley was asked about the altercation after the game, she told ESPN, “I have no idea. But I’m going to 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.

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“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 he came with after the game. But hey, sometimes things get heated, we move on.”

In his postgame news conference, Auriemma did not apologize when prompted by reporters: “I said what I said. And obviously, she didn’t like it. I just told the truth.”

Although Staley shook hands with him when they both entered the court during warmups, Auriemma said he waited “three minutes” for Staley to shake his hand closer to the start of the Final Four game. Auriemma also complained during an in-game interview with ESPN about foul calls and the way Staley was speaking to the referees. He implied that Sarah Strong’s jersey had been ripped by South Carolina, but video replays showed Strong ripping it down the middle in frustration after she missed a shot and a foul was not called.

When Staley was asked about Auriemma’s apology or if the two had talked yet, the South Carolina coach offered no answer Saturday.

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“No distractions at this time,” Staley said. “Concentrating on winning a national championship at this time.”

UConn entered the game with aspirations of back-to-back championships and protecting its undefeated record. Instead, South Carolina snapped the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak.

Staley expressed disappointment Saturday that what happened at the end of the game might have overshadowed her team’s accomplishment.

“That’s a little disheartening, but at the same time, this is sports and sometimes things like this happen,” Staley said. “That’s why I’m just going to keep focusing on our team … and hopefully win another national championship.”

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Staley is now 2-1 against Auriemma in the Final Four and exacted revenge after South Carolina’s loss to UConn in the 2025 national championship. The Gamecocks will play UCLA for the title on Sunday.

When asked if she had talked to Staley about the incident, Bruins head coach Cori Close said she had texted with her, “but very briefly.”

“I told her in a couple weeks I’d love to know the real story,” Close said. “But I just think, those are two people, honestly, both Coach Auriemma and Dawn Staley, that have invested in me. I have had opportunities to grow in this profession because of the both of them. I’m gonna let that be between them, but I will just say that this is a really competitive environment and emotions are incredibly high, and this is a culminating event, and I know them to be really good people, so I’m gonna trust that when all the dust settles, we’re gonna come back to that.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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