UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley "deserved better from me" following the Huskies' loss to the Gamecocks in the Final Four on April 3.
Auriemma issued a second apology following the postgame exchange he initiated with Staley after UConn's 62-48 loss to South Carolina. Auriemma initially apologized to South Carolina's staff on Saturday, but the 72-year-old followed up with a second statement that mentioned Staley by name on Tuesday.
"This morning, Dawn Staley and I spoke about our interaction after the game last Friday. I apologized to Dawn, her staff and her team," Auriemma wrote. "Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach it. Dawn and her team deserved to win, and they deserved better from me."
Auriemma and Staley got into a heated confrontation in the waning seconds of their Women's Final Four game on Friday, April 3. ESPN cameras caught the two coaches walking toward each other for the postgame handshake before Auriemma made some comments to Staley. That ignited a brief shouting match between the two, with assistant coaches and officials getting between the two women's basketball stalwarts.
