Dawn Staley reveals strategy behind how she responded to Geno Auriemma's complaints about South Carolina
COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley fired back at Geno Auriemma on her radio call-in show Tuesday night after the UConn coach made comments about the No. 1 Gamecocks' play style in their 81-77 win over the Huskies.
Staley said Wednesday that she was frustrated by Auriemma's complaints about South Carolina's physicality because she does not want that "narrative" to impact the Gamecocks negatively in future matchups. She said she wanted to share her perspective on the game to counter Auriemma's claim that it was one-sided.
"I just don't like narratives that could hurt us in the future, so that's why I addressed it," Staley explained. "If it was just a one-off and I thought it was the end of it, but I don't think it's the end of it. If we have to play them again, that's out there and I just want people to know that this is us and this is how we play ... Even if everybody fouled out, I wouldn't change how we play and approach the game."
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After the game Sunday at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, Auriemma expressed frustration with the officiating and specifically the lack of calls against South Carolina. He said that guard Lou Lopez Senechal has "bruises on her body," and that the way teams defend her is "not basketball anymore."
Auriemma also received a technical foul in the game for throwing a water bottle onto the court while arguing with a referee during the fourth quarter.
On her radio call-in show, Staley defended her team as "some of the best human beings that the game has ever had," and said she felt that Auriemma's comments invalidated the Gamecocks' success. Sunday's victory was the first in program history on the Huskies' home court, and South Carolina also beat UConn last season in the 2022 NCAA Championship game.
"I have never said one derogatory word about UConn or anybody else that's beat us over the years," Staley said. "I've only said that (UConn is) the standard, and I continue to say that they are the standard of college women's basketball on the court."
Staley said Auriemma has not reached out to her since the game, and she said she does not expect to hear from him.
"He said his piece and I'm going to say my piece," Staley said. "I'm going to protect our program and out team to make sure they're OK ... From a human being standpoint to see your name and your play described as that, it can play on their psyche. I'm just going to make sure it doesn't."
The Gamecocks (23-0, 12-0 SEC) are back in action at Auburn (13-9, 3-7) on Thursday, and the attention will then turn to another highly anticipated matchup against No. 2 LSU (23-0, 13-0) in front of a sold-out crowd at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN).
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Dawn Staley responded to Geno Auriemma, defended South Carolina
