Legendary college basketball coach Geno Auriemma faced criticism from ESPN analysts after a heated confrontation with South Carolina's Dawn Staley during the South Carolina-UConn game in the Women's Final Four in Phoenix. The confrontation occurred during South Carolina’s 62-48 victory over UConn, which ended in a defeat that sent South Carolina to the national championship game against UCLA. During the game, Auriamma criticized the officiating and accused Staley of not following proper protocol for a pregame handshake. Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter suggested that the incident may have been an attempt to distract from the fact that South Carolina played better.