Geno Auriemma has never been particularly bashful about speaking his mind. So, when his UConn Huskies were on the wrong end of a controversial call late in Friday night’s Final Four matchup against Iowa in the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, it was only a matter of time before he’d have something to say.
In his postgame press conference, Auriemma was asked, “What did you make of the illegal screen call at the end?” The legendary coach initially had no reaction. He then shrugged his shoulders and finally began to talk.
“There’s probably an illegal screen call that you could make on every single possession,” he said. “I just know there were three or four of them called on us. And I don’t think there were any called on them. So, I guess we just gotta get better at not setting illegal screens.”
Here’s what UConn head coach Geno Auriemma had to say about the offensive foul call. pic.twitter.com/2QONwnt6x9
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The foul in question came on what would be UConn’s final possession. The Huskies had rallied to cut the deficit to only one point and had the ball. UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards set a screen on Iowa’s Gabbie Marshall, trying to clear space for Paige Bueckers and was whistled for an illegal screen. The reaction to the foul was mixed, with people in close to equal parts thinking it was the right call, the wrong call and technically correct but called at a bad time.
While UConn had a chance to get the ball back on a missed free throw from Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes remained in possession through the rest of the game and held on for a narrow win.
Given the controversial nature of the call, when it happened and how close the game was, expect it to be discussed a lot more going forward.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]
