Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma clearly haven’t made amends.
Following the two coaches’ handshake confrontation after South Carolina’s Final Four win over UConn on Friday, Staley revealed that there’d been no developments since.
Staley said after her team’s national championship loss to UCLA on Sunday that she’s heard nothing from Auriemma following the encounter.
“That’s a Geno question, I have not heard from Geno,” Staley told reporters. “It’s UCLA’s day. Let’s keep it there. We’re not gonna damper UCLA’s day with that.”
She also added that she has over 800 text messages and could’ve simply missed a message from Auriemma.
In the viral moment between the two after their Final Four matchup, where South Carolina ended UConn’s undefeated season, Auriemma and Staley got into a heated shouting match.
It was later revealed that the spat occurred after Auriemma took offense when Staley didn’t shake his hand in time before the game. He also took jabs at the officials because UConn didn’t attempt a single free throw in the third quarter, citing that the Gamecocks were “beating the s-–t out of our guys.”
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching, the protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt,” Auriemma said. “They announce it on loudspeaker. I waited there for three minutes. So, it is what it is.”
Staley was candid at her postgame press conference, saying “You can ask Geno the question,” when asked about the incident. When questioned about it again Saturday, she said she was simply “concentrating on winning the national championship.”
“Nothing can derail us, or me, from staying with the task at hand,” Staley said. “There are a lot of distractions that are placed in your life. You’re either going to address them and let it overcome or you stick with the task at hand.”
“It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” Auriemma said in the statement. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted.”
Following the matchup, South Carolina and Staley fell to UCLA 79-51 in the national championship game, giving the Bruins their first-ever title in women’s basketball.
Despite that result, Staley and Auriemma’s feud is still top of mind.
