UConn vs South Carolina was supposed to be a women’s Final Four classic remembered for a star-studded clash between two loaded rosters. Instead, it will probably go down as the setting for a historic, heated confrontation between coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley.

Cooler heads seemed to prevail on Saturday after the sideline drama that took place on Friday night. Auriemma issued a statement apologizing to South Carolina for his actions that seemed to incite the incident.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. 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 great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them,” Auriemma said via a statement.

WOW.

Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley going at it at the Women’s Final Four

Sportsmanship level -1000 for Coach Auriemma after going straight to the locker room and refusing to shake South Carolina’s hands. pic.twitter.com/e3DHVgdrQG

— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) April 4, 2026

Auriemma’s teams have beaten Staley’s squads in 9 of 16 meetings, but the all-time series in the NCAA Tournament is knotted at two wins apiece after South Carolina’s 62-48 victory over UConn on Friday.

Staley’s Gamecocks hope to bring home the national championship against UCLA on Sunday.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: UConn’s Geno Auriemma apologizes after incident with Dawn Staley