PHOENIX — South Carolina fans were on their feet Friday night as Raven Johnson was dribbling out the clock. The Gamecocks were seconds away from their fourth national championship game in five years.
Dawn Staley looked to her left and saw Geno Auriemma approaching her.
He crossed half court, and Staley probably thought he was there to give a congratulatory handshake after South Carolina knocked off UConn in the Final Four.
Instead, she got an earful.
Auriemma blasted Staley, and she fired back. UConn assistant Jamelle Elliott tried to step in and pull her boss away. But Auriemma didn’t stop.
Eventually, the two were separated.
The horn sounded on South Carolina’s 62-48 win that ruined UConn’s perfect season. Auriemma was nowhere to be found when the handshake line started.
One of college basketball’s great upsets between rivals was punctuated by an epic meltdown by one of the game’s greatest coaches.
The story of Friday night’s game should’ve been about South Carolina spoiling UConn’s chance at winning back-to-back championships.
It should’ve been about South Carolina’s gritty effort led by Johnson and Joyce Edwards and how the Gamecocks vindicated itself after last year’s national championship collapse. How it was a rock fight. How South Carolina ultimately overwhelmed the Huskies, who hadn’t faced that level of physicality and pressure all season.
Instead, Auriemma’s antics stole the show.
Staley declined to share specifics of what was said during the exchange.
“You can ask Geno the question,” she said. “He’s the one that initiated the conversation. I don’t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today.”
Auriemma offered no clarity.
“I said what I had to say,” he said. “And nothing, nothing.”
Pressed again about what he specifically said, Auriemma said, “Why would I say it? I said what I said. Obviously, she didn’t like it. I just told the truth.”
Auriemma’s breakdown started before the fourth quarter, when he ripped the refs and swore on national TV before directing his ire at Staley.
“There were six fouls called in that quarter, all of them against us,” Auriemma said. “And they been beating the shit out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses cause we haven’t been able to make shot. But this is ridiculous. Their coach rants and raves on the sidelines and calls the referees some names you don’t want to hear.”
Auriemma was frustrated that Sarah Strong’s jersey was ripped at one point in the third quarter. He also said he was pissed that Staley allegedly left him hanging for three minutes at half court and accused her of not shaking his hand during a pregame ritual.
“I don’t have any regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe. Why would I?” he said. “I’ve been coaching a long time. I’ve never had a kid have to change their jersey because somebody ripped it and the official said, ‘I didn’t see it.’
“There are a lot of things that happened in that game. Unless you’re on that sideline, you have no idea what’s happening on that sideline. I mean, for 41 years, I’ve been coaching and been [to] 25 Final Fours and the protocol is, you meet half court. Anybody ever seen that before? Two coaches meet at half court, and they shake hands. … They announce it on the loud speaker and I waited there for like three minutes and so it is what it is.”
The thing is: There’s photo and video evidence plastered on social media of that pregame interaction where the two coaches exchanged a handshake.
But Auriemma doubled down when questioned about the photo showing they linked up.
“I think you missed the point of what I’m talking about,” he said. “So I’d rather not go into it. Anybody that’s been in the NCAA Tournament, you know what I’m talking about.”
Auriemma also told reporters that if he talked to the refs like Staley did, he would’ve gotten tossed. He said he wanted to make sure there wasn’t a double standard, according to ESPN.
But Auriemma’s fighting words couldn’t change the outcome.
UConn crumbled under the pressure.
Not everyone gets another shot at slaying the giant. South Carolina did and succeeded.
And Staley got the last laugh.
