The heated exchange between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley has been one of the biggest talking points of their Final Four matchup. And of course, a lot of people believed that Geno was just a little salty about his team’s loss. But in defending himself, the UConn head coach explained his reaction. And according to him, Dawn Staley skipped the customary center-court handshake before tip-off and left him waiting for nearly three minutes.

Well, that explanation also does not exactly hold up when Senior U.S. Columnist Jerry Brewer took a closer look at the situation. For him, Geno’s reaction was never really about the handshake or the three-minute wait he claimed. Instead, it was actually about a shift in control.

For years, Geno Auriemma stood alone at the top of women’s college basketball. And even though he’s had notable competition like Pat Summitt, Muffet McGraw, Tara VanDerveer, and Kim Mulkey, he, in a way, outlasted them. In fact, when Dawn Staley came along, she was still firmly beneath the Geno shadow. She lost her first seven straight matchups against him. And during this period, Geno led the UConn Huskies to six NCAA National Championships.

But dynasties don’t last forever uncontested, and Dawn Staley has gradually built one powerful enough to shake the Geno throne. In 2017, she led the South Carolina Gamecocks to their first-ever NCAA title. And since those first seven losses to Geno Auriemma, she’s now won six of their last eight encounters, adding championships in 2022 and 2024. And most notably, the 2022 National Championship came from a 64-49 win against Geno Auriemma’s UConn in the final.

UConn, of course, momentarily reclaimed the upper hand by routing South Carolina 82-59 to win the 2025 National Championship. But that only took the rivalry to a boiling point in their latest encounter. Staley’s team delivered a defensive masterclass, holding UConn to a season-low 48 points and snapping their 54-game winning streak with a 62-48 victory that denied them a shot at the championship.

For Jerry Brewer, this galaxy that Dawn Staley has built can finally stand toe-to-toe with Geno Auriemma’s dynasty. And he doesn’t like it. That, more than anything, is what this was about. Not a handshake. Not three minutes at center court. But the reality is that control is no longer his alone.

Auriemma Issues Apology to South Carolina Program for Conduct During Final Four Game

Geno Auriemma’s primary justification for his altercation with Dawn Staley centered on the fact that Staley did not show up for the pregame handshake protocol, and he felt that he was snubbed. And while many might think that wasn’t a genuine enough reason, the UConn head coach doubled down on the claim.

However, despite his initial defiance, Geno Auriemma has now issued a formal apology on Saturday, the morning after the game. “There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” he wrote in an official statement. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina.”

And while he ultimately expressed regret, fans and analysts alike haven’t stopped talking about his handshake claim, especially now that video footage appears to show the two coaches exchanging a brief handshake earlier in the pregame. Turns out, losing a Final Four game can really get to even a coach of Geno’s caliber.