Sports

Did Dawn Staley Take Subtle Jab At Geno Auriemma After National Championship Loss?

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© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images


The South Carolina women’s basketball lost its national championship contest against UCLA on Sunday. Dawn Staley congratulated Bruins coach Cori Close after the fact.

In doing so, many believe she subtly jabbed UConn’s Geno Auriemma. It continued a drama that unfolded in the Final Four.

The Gamecocks ended the Huskies‘ season one game shy of a title appearance. Auriemma stormed off the court after an awkward handshake with Staley in the postgame.

Geno Auriemma felt disrespected by Dawn Staley.

Auriemma began arguing with Staley after UConn’s 62-48 loss in the Final Four. He blamed it on a handshake snub in the pregame.

“I have no idea,” Staley said of the interaction. “But 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 pre-game and shook everybody on his staff’s hand. I don’t know where he came from after the game. But hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

Video showed that Staley did shake Auriemma’s hand before the opening tip. Apparently, she did not do so quickly enough.

“The protocol is, before the game, you meet at halfcourt, anybody ever see that before?” Auriemma asked after the game. “The two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands… they announce it on the loudspeaker. I waited there for like three minutes.”

Most viewed the response as a salty reaction to an unexpected loss. UConn entered as a 7-point favorite and the overwhelming pick to win the national title.

It didn’t happen. The Gamecocks handed the Huskies their first loss of the season. Auriemma didn’t handle it well. That exchange might’ve still been on Staley’s mind a few days later.

Did she throw a jab?

“I can swallow [the loss] because we lost to a really good human being and a good team that represents women’s basketball well,” Dawn Staley said of UCLA coach Cori Close after the national championship.

The Bruins crushed the Gamecocks to win the title.

Reading between the lines, viewers believe the comments were linked to Geno Auriemma. She may not think highly of the UConn coach given what transpired in the latest rivalry outing.