Dawn Staley deflects Auriemma drama to stay focused on UCLA 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 matchup 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 analyzing his thoughts further, Staley had an elegant response.

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“I don’t want to, this is UCLA day, right? Let’s still be UCLA, they win the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic. “…We’re not going to ruin UCLA’s day with this.”

Prior to this national title contest, Staley was seen having a cordial experience greeting UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close, a much different experience than how he ended Friday night with Auriemma.

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After the Gamecocks defeated the Huskies, Staley and Auriemma went viral with their interaction at half court, where Auriemma appeared to anger Staley before leaving.

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

Staley was showing a bit of sarcasm, when he noticed that Auriemma didn’t shake his hand before the Final Four between the two teams began on Friday night.

After the Gamecocks’ win over the Huskies, Staley was asked what exactly happened to Auriemma, though she tried to explain her focus on helping her team secure the national title game. Had 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 watches during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 5, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“There are no distractions for me right now. I’m focusing on winning a national championship, that’s all,” Staley said at the time. “That’s a little discouraging. This is sports, sometimes things like this happen. I continue to focus on my team and my ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”

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Auriemma later issued 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 is different than what I do and our standard here in Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement Saturday. “I want to apologize to the South Carolina staff and team. How I reacted wasn’t necessary. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

Staley added that he had “no idea” why Auriemma was angry after the game, although he assumed perhaps he was angry about the lack of a pregame handshake on his part. Either way, Staley was moving 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 came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on,” he said.

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