For a team that shot over 50% for most of the season, the UConn Huskies’ performance in the Final Four matchup would have any coach frustrated. They struggled to find their rhythm in Phoenix, and as their sloppy plays piled up, so did the tension. And by the final moments, that frustration didn’t just stay within the game; it spilled over into a heated exchange between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley.

The tension between the coaches first came to light during Auriemma’s mid-game interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. In a conversation with Rowe, the Huskies’ head coach voiced his anger over the officiating and accused the Gamecocks of “beating the s— out” of the Huskies throughout the game. If you are thinking that may be the end of it, you couldn’t be more wrong.

With just 0.1 seconds left on the clock, Auriemma got into a verbal exchange with Staley. So what started as in-game frustration quickly turned into a heated moment between the two. But according to the Huskies coach, that tension began building even before the game tipped off.

“I don’t have any regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe. Why would I? I’ve been coaching a long time, I’ve never had a kid have to change their jersey because somebody ripped it, and the official said I didn’t see it. There are a lot of things that happen in that game unless you’re on that sideline. You have no idea what’s happening on that sideline,” Geno Auriemma said during a post-game interview.

He further added, “For 41 years, I’ve been coaching, and I’ve been to 25 Final Fours, and the protocol is, before the game, you meet at half court. Anybody ever see that before? The two coaches meet at halfcourt, and they shake hands… They announce it on the Loud Speaker, and I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”

While coaches usually shake each other’s hands before a game starts, Auriemma was reportedly left waiting for Staley at half court. And that’s the moment that he suggested was the focal point of the tensions that later carried into the game.

So when the matchup came to an end, and the Gamecocks began celebrating their 62-48 win over the Huskies, Auriemma skipped the handshake line entirely and went straight to the locker room.

Still, when he was asked about his relationship with Staley off the court by another reporter, he was nothing but respectful, even if distant.

“No, not really. We don’t have a lot in common,” he admitted. “Dawn was my assistant on the Olympic team, and we’ve been coaching against each other for a long time. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what she’s done in South Carolina. I remember when she got there, and the program had basically fallen off the map. So for her to take her program and take it to where it is right now. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them.”

But while the headlines were taken over by the sideline drama, the real story was how South Carolina handled business on the court.

Geno Auriemma’s Perfect Run Comes to an End

Auriemma and his Huskies entered the Final Four matchup as the widely projected winners. And why wouldn’t they be? After all, they had a 38-0 undefeated run in the 2025-26 season. But the Gamecocks had other plans.

From the very start, the Huskies struggled to find rhythm, especially from beyond the arc, as they scored just 6 of the 21 shots they attempted. Even their top scorers were lost in the game.

Azzi Fudd managed to score just 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting, while Sarah Strong scored 12 points on 25% shooting.

But to be fair, on the other side, the Gamecocks didn’t light it up either. But what helped them take the win home is that they stayed composed when it mattered.

In the box score, Ta’Niya Latson led the Gamecocks with 16 points and 11 rebounds. But the majority of her points came at the free-throw line, where she scored 10 out of her 10 shots.

South Carolina wasn’t a better team; they took advantage of their trips to the line as the Huskies recorded 17 fouls. And those costly mistakes were exactly what proved to be the difference as the Gamecocks sealed a 14-point win.

So while for Geno Auriemma, it marked the end of a perfect run, for Dawn Staley, it’s another chance to secure the national championship title.