COLUMBIA, S.C. — UConn head coach Geno Auriemma made remarks after Sunday’s loss to South Carolina about the officiating, with those comments including undertones of criticism of the Gamecocks’ style of play. On Tuesday, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley responded.
Auriemma in his postgame interview singled out how teams are defending UConn guard Lou Lopez-Sénéchal, saying, “If you want to bring Lou in and you can see the bruises on her body. It’s just appalling what teams do to her now. It’s not basketball anymore.”
Auriemma received a technical foul in the fourth quarter after slamming a water bottle on the court from what he said stemmed from frustration with the officiating.
Staley on Tuesday delivered a four-minute response on her call-in show to Auriemma’s comments and other criticisms levied toward the Gamecocks about their physical style of play, saying she didn’t like the narrative that they are “tackling people out there.”
“We’ve won several national championships playing the exact same way that we’re playing today,” Staley said on her radio show on 107.5 FM. “When you say it’s not basketball, when you say your player has bruises on her body — our entire post players, if we unclothe them, you would see the bruises.
“I just don’t like the narrative, every time we’re successful, that we’re called something other than players who are locked in that play hellified defense. That gives it up for the greater good of the game. They play the right way, they approach it the right way. Whether they win or lose, we don’t denounce anybody’s play. We’re always uplifting the game of basketball.
“When we were getting our heads beat in by UConn for all those years, I said nothing.”
South Carolina ranks first nationally in blocked shots and points per game on defense. The team is 88th in fouls per game.
Staley told reporters on Wednesday that she has addressed the comments with the team in an effort to ensure it doesn’t impact their “psyche.” She went on to explain why she responded to Auriemma’s comments.
“I just don’t like narratives that could hurt us in the future,” Staley said. “If it was just a one-off, and I thought it was the end of it ... but I just don’t think it’s the end of it. I think if we have to play them again, that’s out there.”
Staley added that she has not yet heard from Auriemma about his remarks and “I don’t anticipate it either.”
UConn on Sunday took an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but it vanished after South Carolina tied the game up going into halftime. The Gamecocks eventually won by four points.
Auriemma said he and the Huskies had to adjust to the way the game was played on Sunday, and that the level of physicality and the way it was officiated impacted what UConn was doing on the court. South Carolina was called for 21 fouls, and the Huskies were called for 22.
“There’s the way the game is played, the way the game is called is going to impact how the game was played,” he said. “And you as a player and you as a coach have to make some adjustments to how the game is being called that day. And I just thought that there were a lot of things going on that were being overlooked.”
South Carolina’s been the subject of criticism from other fan bases all season, but some remarks have ventured into derogatory terrain. Last month, screenshots circulated from a Facebook group that showed some fans calling South Carolina players “thugs” and saying they play “street ball.”
Staley took time Tuesday to address that as well.
“We’ve been called so many things,” Staley said in the radio interview. “I’m sick of it. I’m sick of it because I coach some of the best human beings that the game’s ever had.”
