আশুলিয়ায় কিশোর গ্যাং সদস্যদের অস্ত্রের মহড়া
· Kaler Kantho
The UConn women's basketball program came into the 2026 Final Four as a sizable favorite to take home its second national championship in as many years.
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Instead, the Huskies left Phoenix empty-handed after the national semifinals.
Burdened by an uncharacteristically cold shooting night in which it made just 19 of its 61 field goal attempts (31%), including a 4-of-16 showing from national player of the year Sarah Strong, coach Geno Auriemma's team saw its perfect season come to an end in a 62-48 loss to fellow No. 1 seed South Carolina in the national semifinals on Friday, April 3.
The loss snapped a 54-game win streak for the Huskies, which is tied for the fourth-longest run in Division I women's basketball history. UConn had won its first 38 games this season by an average of 37.8 points, with only one of those victories decided by fewer than 13 points.
The victory came with a measure of revenge for coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, who lost to UConn 82-59 in the national championship game last season.
Despite the comfortable margin of victory for South Carolina, there were some fireworks after the game when Auriemma and Staley got into a heated exchange while shaking hands at the end of regulation. The interaction happened with a few tenths of a second remaining. Once the horn officially sounded and the game came to an end, Auriemma was already walking back to his team's locker room.
Geno Auriemma exchanged words with Dawn Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina and UConn’s Final Four matchup. pic.twitter.com/S6anlPKqwe
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2026
Auriemma had complained about the officiating during an interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe earlier in the game, which included a shot at Staley, who he said "rants and raves on the sideline" and "calls the referees "some names you don't want to hear."
Here's a sampling of what people were saying on social media about the war or words between the two Philadelphia natives:
Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation
Geno a ho
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) April 4, 2026
A Dawn/Geno brawl - the only 2026 sports moment that would have been crazier than Bam’s 83-point game.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 4, 2026
Geno is wack for this man https://t.co/deeBpr7qbspic.twitter.com/FcR9Woqu76
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) April 4, 2026
This is wild behavior from Geno Auriemma. https://t.co/yIaZH6OfWp
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 4, 2026
Whether a UConn Basketball team wins on a miracle or loses by 14, you can basically guarantee their coach is gonna chirp at someone. pic.twitter.com/FRbDDIFdjH
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) April 4, 2026
Geno unraveling. It’s a new Dawn.
— alex medina (@mrmedina) April 4, 2026
Geno went out like a sucka.
— Kevín (@KevOnStage) April 4, 2026
Philly on Philly at the Final Four. ❤️
— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) April 4, 2026
So all that sportsmanship stuff goes out the window for Geno when he loses his first game of the year? Got it.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) April 4, 2026
Man what a horrible look for Geno. What are you doing dude?
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 4, 2026
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation after UConn-South Carolina