Dawn Staley deflects Auriemma drama to keep focus on UCLA’s title

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was disappointed with how the Gamecocks’ season ended Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, a 79-51 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the national championship game.

During her postgame interview, Staley was asked about what happened in the Gamecocks’ previous Final Four game against UConn, where she and head coach Geno Auriemma had a tense exchange after South Carolina advanced to the title game for the third straight year.

Instead of hashing out more of his thoughts, Staley had a classy response.

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“I don’t want to — it’s UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep it UCLA, they win the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic . “… We’re not going to dampen UCLA’s day with that.”

Before this national title contest, Staley was seen having a heartwarming experience greeting UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close — a very different experience than how Friday night ended with Auriemma.

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After the Gamecocks defeated the Huskies, Staley and Auriemma went viral with their interaction at midfield, with Auriemma appearing to rage Staley before leaving.

This time, Staley and Close hugged and shared a few words. During the exchange, Staley “looked around afterward like, ‘see??’,” according to NBC Sports.

Staley showed a bit of sarcasm when she noted that Auriemma didn’t shake her hand before the Final Four tipped between the two teams on Friday night.

After the Gamecocks’ win over the Huskies, Staley was asked what exactly happened with Auriemma, though she tried to explain her focus on helping her team lock into the national title game. If they won, it would have been the fourth national championship in the last 10 years for South Carolina.

Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins looks on during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA Women’s National Basketball Championship at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“For me, there are no distractions at this point. I’m concentrating on winning a national championship, that’s it,” Staley said at the time. “It’s kind of disappointing. This is sports, sometimes things like that happen. Keep focusing on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”

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Auriemma later released a statement apologizing for his behavior after the loss.

“There is no excuse for how I handled the end of the game against South Carolina. It’s contrary to what I do and what our standard is here in Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement Saturday. “I want to apologize to the South Carolina staff and team. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a good relationship with their staff and I sincerely apologize to them.”

Staley added that she had “no idea” why Auriemma was angry after the game, though she speculated that he might have been struck by the lack of pregame handshakes from his own end. Either way, Staley moved forward.

UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close shakes hands with South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley after defeating South Carolina 79-51 in the NCAA women’s championship game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 4, 2026. (Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

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“I don’t know what he brought up after the game, but hey, sometimes things heat up. We move on,” she said.

For UCLA, it was the first time the women’s basketball program won the national title as their emotional celebration followed the game in Phoenix.