South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was asked a question about Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma after the Gamecocks lost 79-52 to UCLA in the women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game on Sunday in Phoenix, and she made it clear that she would like the focus to be on the Bruins.
To recap, Auriemma called out Staley in a live interview with ESPN during the South Carolina-UConn Final Four game and later got into a heated exchange with Staley as the Gamecocks closed out a 62-48 win over the Huskies on Friday night. Auriemma was heavily criticized by the sports media world for his behavior. On Saturday morning, Auriemma apologized “to the staff and team at South Carolina,” but he didn’t specifically mention Staley in the statement.
“There are reports that Geno did reach out to you since we talked to you last,” a reporter said to Staley during Sunday’s postgame press conference. “Can you share how, when, and anything of that nature that you can share about the conversation?”
“That’s a Geno question, right?” Staley responded. “It really is a Geno question. I haven’t heard from Geno. I have not… I haven’t. I mean, I got 800 text messages, so I don’t know if he texted or not.”
“It’s UCLA’s day, right?” Staley continued. “And let’s keep it UCLA, them winning the national championship. Again, I will address all of that at another time, just not this weekend. We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it. We could talk about South Carolina, us losing. We could talk about UCLA winning the national championship. And what’s great about our game today.”
Dawn Staley says she has not heard from Geno Auriemma directly, and told reporters she wants the focus to be on UCLA winning.
“We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it.” pic.twitter.com/an9pr6ES0S
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 5, 2026
That was certainly the right move by Staley to turn the conversation to recognizing a remarkable national championship performance by UCLA. It’s the Bruins’ first women’s basketball national title in the NCAA era.
And even with the disappointing finish, it was another fantastic season for Staley and South Carolina, capped off by a Final Four victory over Auriemma and NCAA Tournament favorite UConn.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.