South Carolina Defeats UConn 62-48 in Final Four; Coaches Engage in Heated Exchange
South Carolina ended UConn's 54-game winning streak with a 62-48 victory in the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four, followed by a heated exchange between coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley.
South Carolina advanced to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship by defeating previously unbeaten UConn 62-48 in the Final Four, ending the Huskies' 54-game winning streak. The Gamecocks' defense limited UConn to 31.1% shooting, with star player Sarah Strong scoring 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting. Ta'Niya Latson led South Carolina with 16 points, while Agot Makeer added 14.
Tensions escalated in the final moments when UConn coach Geno Auriemma approached South Carolina coach Dawn Staley for a handshake with 0.1 seconds remaining. The exchange became heated, with both coaches raising their voices before being separated by staff. Auriemma then left the court without participating in the postgame handshake line.
Staley addressed the incident postgame, stating, "I have no idea. I'm gonna let you know this. I'm of integrity. I'm of integrity. 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 didn't know I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff's hand. I don't know where he came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on."
Auriemma expressed frustration during the game regarding officiating, noting that all six fouls in the third quarter were called against UConn. He remarked, "There were six fouls called that quarter, all of them against us, and they've been beating the s--- out of our guys down there the entire game."
South Carolina will face UCLA in the national championship game, marking their fourth title game appearance in five seasons.