UConn coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had a heated exchange on the sideline after the Gamecocks beat the undefeated Huskies 62-48 in Friday night\u2019s semi-final of the NCAA women\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n
South Carolina ended UConn\u2019s winning streak at 54 games and secured a return trip to the national championship game.<\/p>\n
As the two went to shake hands with 0.1 seconds left, Auriemma appeared to go to shake Staley\u2019s hand and began yelling in her direction. Staley responded with words of her own. Assistant coaches went to calm the two sides, and UConn inbounded the ball to end the game.<\/p>\n
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Staley went to shake hands with UConn staffers while Auriemma headed for the tunnel without shaking the hands of any South Carolina players or coaches. Players from both teams shook hands before the UConn players sprinted up the tunnel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did,\u201d Staley told ESPN\u2019s Holly Rowe in the postgame interview. \u201cI guess he thought I didn\u2019t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff\u2019s hand. I don\u2019t know what he came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither coach gave much insight into the exchange in their postgame news conferences.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can ask Geno the question,\u201d Staley said. \u201cHe\u2019s the one that initiated the conversation. I don\u2019t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nothing,\u201d Auriemma said. \u201cI said what I had to say. It was nothing. Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Auriemma gave a heated mid-game interview to Rowe, airing his frustration about officiating.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were six fouls called that [third] quarter, all of them against us. And they\u2019ve been beating the shit out of our guys down there the entire game. And I\u2019m not making excuses for us, we haven\u2019t been able to make a shot, but this is ridiculous. Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don\u2019t want to hear, and now we get six to zero and I got a kid with a ripped jersey and [the referees] go \u2018I didn\u2019t see it.\u2019 C\u2019mon, man. This is for the national championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
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UConn star Sarah Strong said in the news conference that her jersey had ripped by accident.<\/p>\n
Auriemma also appeared displeased about seemingly waiting to shake Staley\u2019s hand before the game. While the coaches had been pictured shaking hands pregame, Auriemma said he had to wait for Staley at midcourt.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you\u2019re on that sideline, you have no idea what\u2019s happening on this sideline,\u201d he said. \u201cFor 41 years I\u2019ve been coaching and, I don\u2019t know, 25 Final Fours. 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 loudspeaker. I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said what I said. And, obviously, she didn\u2019t like it. I just told the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staley, a three-time champion, and Auriemma, a 12-time champion, are two of the most respected coaches in women\u2019s basketball. After UConn defeated South Carolina in last year\u2019s championship game, they met for a hug<\/a> at halfcourt.<\/p>\n