Dawn Staley issues statement on Geno Auriemma face-off, asks fans ‘to turn the page’
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is ready to move on from the incident between her and UConn coach Geno Auriemma that happened at the end of their teams’ Final Four matchup Friday.
Staley issued a statement Tuesday on the team’s X page, saying she spoke to Auriemma about the heated confrontation they had before the postgame handshake. It’s “time to turn the page” and keep the focus on growing and elevating the game of women’s basketball, Staley said in the statement.
“I spoke to Geno and I want it to be clear that I have a great deal of respect for him and what he has meant to the game. One moment doesn’t define a career and it doesn’t change the impact he’s had on growing women’s basketball,” Staley wrote. “UConn is what it is because of him, and that is something the game has benefited from.”
Auriemma released his second statement on the matter Tuesday evening. He also released one on Saturday but didn’t reference Staley by name. In his most recent statement, he said he apologized to Staley, her staff and team.
Auriemma also said he and Staley decided to move on from it and “shift back to the growth in women’s basketball.”
“I have lost more games in the Final Four than anyone coach in history but Friday I lost something more important. I lost myself,” Auriemma said. “Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach in it. Dawn and her team deserved to win and they deserved better from me. Women’s basketball deserved better. My university, my athletes, my former players and our fans deserved better.”
Staley and Auriemma got in a heated exchange in the closing seconds of the Gamecocks’ 62-48 win Friday, with assistant coaches having to separate the two and Auriemma leaving the handshake line altogether and going to the locker room.
Auriemma later said he felt snubbed by Staley after the two teams were introduced for Friday’s game. The two did shake hands as Staley met with him and rest of the staff when she entered the court earlier, but a second coach-and-coach interaction just before tipoff didn’t happen.
As the game wrapped up, Auriemma and Staley started walking toward each other for a handshake, which is normal for coaches even when there’s still a small amount of time remaining in an already-decided game. But Auriemma confronted Staley instead, prompting members of both staffs to surround them and separate the coaches as Auriemma pointed toward Staley and the USC coach reacted with surprise and confusion.
“I have no idea. I’m of integrity,” Staley said in ESPN interview after the game. “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. I went down there pregame and shook everybody’s hand pregame.”
Auriemma wound up leaving the floor without participating in the full handshake line, while Huskies assistant coaches Jamelle Elliott and Tonya Cardoza (a former teammate of Staley’s at Virginia) both spoke with Staley postgame.
Auriemma issued a statement Saturday, apologizing for his actions but didn’t address Staley by name.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 1:29 PM.
