Dawn Staley isn’t here because of Geno Auriemma’s criticism.
The South Carolina coach hit back at the longtime UConn coach on Tuesday, just days after Auriemma lambasted the Gamecocks following their win over the Huskies.
Auriemma called them out after the game for apparently bruising Husky star Lou Lopez-Senechal.
“I didn’t say anything for a long, long, long time,” Auriemma said. “And I just thought: do you want me to bring Lou and see the bruises? It’s just awful what teams are doing to her now. It’s not basketball anymore. It’s not basketball anymore. So that was the problem.”
Staley then reached out to Oriemma on her Tuesday night radio show.
“They play the right way and approach it the right way, whether they win or lose,” she said of her team. via The Associated Press. “We do not condemn anyone’s game. They always lift the spirits in women’s basketball, and when we were beaten by UCLA all these years, I didn’t say anything.”
No. 1 South Carolina beat No. 4 UConn 81–77 on Sunday at the XL Center, marking the Gamecocks’ fourth victory over UConn in the last five meetings.
Auriemma was heated throughout the game and at one point even threw a water bottle on the court, for which he received a technical foul.
Auriemma also said after the game that he wasn’t referring to “one key game” with López-Senechal, but rather “there were a lot of things going on that were overlooked”.
However, Staley does not have it.
“We’ve been called so many and I’m sick of it,” Staley said Tuesday. via The Associated Press. “I’m sick of it because I’m coaching some of the best people that have ever been in the game.”
Staley addressed the issue on Wednesday, saying she spoke to her team about her exchange with Auriemma. And reiterated that the team would continue to play the same way if they faced UConn again.
South Carolina has yet to lose this season and will play Auburn next Thursday.
Geno Auriemma answers, ready to accept
Auriemma was asked about Staley’s comments on Wednesday night following their loss to Marquette, the first consecutive loss in almost 30 years.
He stood his ground and insisted that he only complained about the refereeing.
“If people have taken this seriously, I have been making this statement for 20+ years. Ever since Diana [Taurasi] played for us… In each of these cases, everything I said was addressed directly to the officials, and no other coach said a word,” Oriemma said. – Because you have the right to train your team the way you want. . I have enough problems with the coach of my own team.
“But I can tell what the officials call the game… If I’m never allowed to question an official, if someone doesn’t think I have hopes for their team, that’s just stupid. If you’ve been paying attention, I’ve been saying this for 20 years.”
Source: sports.yahoo.com
