Geno Auriemma blasts officiating, clashes with Dawn Staley after South Carolina Gamecocks upset UConn Huskies; watch here

Geno Auriemma was far from pleased, expressing visible frustration not only with the officiating but also with his team’s performance. The UConn head coach’s displeasure extended to the opposing bench as well, as tensions appeared to rise in his interactions with Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks during the contest.

The Huskies coach ripped into the officiating crew during a live TV interview and then got into a heated argument with Staley in the final seconds of their 62-48 loss to the Gamecocks in the national semifinals of the women's Final Four on Friday night, according to news agency AP.

A minute later, he stalked off the floor alone, stewing over the nightmare performance. “There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us," Auriemma said on the broadcast, as quoted by AP. "And they’ve been beating the (expletive) out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.





“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”

Auriemma, 72, was not done yet as he walked toward Staley in the final seconds of the game before the two had an angry exchange, with assistants having to get in between them.

Once the game finally ended, Auriemma slowly walked off the court and down the tunnel without shaking hands with the Gamecocks. The teams did shake hands.

UConn's frustration boiled over after a brutal offensive night for the team's All-America combo of Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd. Strong finished with just 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Fudd scored eight on 3-of-15 shooting, including 2 of 9 from long range.

The Huskies' lone offensive bright spot came midway through the third quarter. Kayleigh Heckel, Blanca Quiñonez and Fudd each hit a 3-pointer in a 90-second span to cut the deficit to 40-39, but UConn was never able to take the lead. South Carolina took a 44-39 advantage into the fourth quarter and slowly pulled away.

UConn scored just nine points in the fourth, shooting 2 of 14 from the field. The 48 points were easily a season low.