As an avid University of Connecticut women’s basketball fan, I tuned in to watch their riveting final four match against the dominant University of South Carolina on April 2. In the past decade, the UConn Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks have battled to determine the true queen of NCAA Division I women’s college basketball.
After UConn’s dominant win over South Carolina in the NCAA championship last year and their 54-game winning streak, I went into the match confident in shooting guards Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong’s abilities to lead UConn to another title. I plopped myself on my living room couch beside my sister to watch the full match. No snacks, no homework. I was ready to fully focus. For me, this game was the college basketball game of the year.
While the Huskies led going into half, the third quarter of the final four matchup made it evident that UConn would face defeat under the wrath of the Gamecocks. The team morale was low as the Huskies hustled up and down the court.
I was upset, but I continued watching through the fourth quarter, wanting to see how the game would end. The final score was a devastating 62-48, Gamecocks. The Huskies were besides themselves. Sophomore Kayleigh Heckel even started sobbing on the court.
Even more disappointing than the loss was UConn head coach Geno Auriemma’s behavior preceding the final buzzer. Auriemma, a male coach, approached Gamecock head coach Dawn Staley for a postgame handshake. Instead of remaining cordial, he angrily accosted her before Staley started firing back.
Assistant coaches and officials had to separate the two.
The UConn coach then retreated through the tunnel by himself. Not only did he skip the postgame handshake ritual, he also left his players alone to deal with the devastating loss.
The UConn players, misty-eyed, shook the hands of their opponents and watched from their bench as the Gamecocks celebrated their victory and confetti flooded the floor. For many seniors and players entering the transfer portal, this would be their last game in the red and navy Huskie uniform. The players were without their mentor after perhaps the hardest loss of their lives.
In his postgame news conference, Auriemma justified his aggressive actions by complaining that he had patiently waited for three minutes for Staley to shake hands before the game. The UConn coach also added that Staley “rants and raves” at the officials and “calls the referees some names you don’t want to hear.”
Since that fateful Friday night, Auriemma has issued two separate public apologies.
“Women’s basketball deserved better,” his statement read. “My university, my athletes, my former players and our fans deserved better. Dawn and I have agreed to move on, and we hope the focus will shift back to the growth in women’s basketball. The game deserves it.”
I have followed the UConn women’s basketball team since the fourth grade when I began obsessing over the team’s winning culture. Auriemma holds the all-time record for the most NCAA Division I Tournament championships for either men’s or women’s basketball, sitting at 12 trophies.
He was the person that every female basketball player has dreamed of playing for, myself included. Now, his reputation is forever ruined, and as the face of Uconn, the Huskies reputation is forever ruined too.
