South Carolina coach Daybreak Staley is breaking her silence on her fiery interplay with UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
“It’s a bit disheartening,” Staley stated of the incident in a Saturday, April 4, press convention. “Nevertheless it’s sports activities, and that occurs. That’s why I’m gonna proceed to concentrate on this workforce and successful a nationwide championship.”
She added, “For me, no distractions presently. Concentrating on successful a nationwide championship.”
Staley and South Carolina earned a spot within the NCAA championship sport after beating UConn within the Last 4 matchup, 62-48, on Friday April 3, ending the Huskies’ undefeated season.
After the sport, Auriemma approached Staley on the sidelines in what initially regarded like the standard postgame handshake between coaches, however the second shortly turned bitter.
Movies of the incident present Auriemma saying one thing to Staley, which visibly upset the Gamecocks coach, and the 2 began yelling forwards and backwards. They ultimately needed to be separated as they walked to their respective locker rooms.
Daybreak Staley seems to be on through the Tremendous Saturday open follow forward of the 2026 NCAA Girls’s Basketball Match championship sport Sarah Stier/Getty Photos
“I’ll beat Geno’s a**,” Staley stated, in keeping with a video on social media.
Auriemma claimed the incident stemmed from a pregame second, the place he alleged Staley didn’t take part within the conventional pregame handshake. Movies from earlier than the sport present the 2 shaking arms on the sideline.
In his postgame feedback, Auriemma stated that he and Staley “don’t have loads in frequent,” however did credit score Staley for constructing South Carolina right into a ladies’s basketball powerhouse, saying that he has a “great quantity of respect” for Staley.
Staley, on Friday, refused to touch upon the scenario.
“You’ll be able to ask Geno the query,” Staley stated. “He’s the one which initiated the dialog. I don’t need what occurred there to dampen what we had been capable of accomplish in the present day.”
The day after the scuffle, Auriemma launched an announcement apologizing to the South Carolina “employees and the workforce” for his actions, however notably didn’t point out Staley by title.
“There’s no excuse for the way I dealt with the top of the sport vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma stated within the Saturday assertion shared by way of X. “It’s in contrast to what I do and what our commonplace is right here at Connecticut.
He continued, “I need to apologize to the employees and the workforce at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story ought to be how nicely South Carolina performed, and I don’t need my actions to detract from that. I’ve had an excellent relationship with their employees, and I sincerely need to apologize to them.”
South Carolina will face the UCLA Bruins within the NCAA ladies’s basketball championship sport on Sunday, April 5.
