UConn women’s basketball’s Geno Auriemma vows to grow the game with Dawn Staley after Final Four drama appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The UConn Huskies lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Women’s Final Four, their first defeat of the season. But the lasting image came after the game, when a legendary coach disrespected another. UConn coach Geno Auriemma issued a statement on Tuesday following the incident with South Carolina’s Dawn Staley from the semi-final matchup.
“This morning, Dawn Staley and I spoke about our interaction after the game last Friday. I apologized to Dawn, her staff, and her team. I’ve lost more games in the Final Four than any coach in history. But Friday I lost something more important. I lost myself,” Auriemma’s statement reads.
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Auriemma did issue one apology immediately after the game, but did not name Staley specifically in the statement.
“Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach it,” the new statement continued. “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. Dawn and I have agreed to move on, and we hope the focus will shift back to the growth in women’s basketball. The game deserves it.”
What exactly Auriemma said to Staley is unknown. It is known that he was incensed with the officiating, watching the Huskies pick up six third-quarter fouls to the Gamecocks’ zero. He said as much to ESPN’s Holly Rowe before the fourth quarter.
“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the refs some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get six to zero (fouls), and I’ve got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go ‘I didn’t see it.’” The Huskies were losing 44-39 at this point. They ended up losing 62-48 for their lone loss of the season.
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