As South Carolina chases 3rd championship in 5 years, the ‘standard’ shifted from Geno Auriemma and UConn to Dawn Staley
PHOENIX — There is no handing over the keys to the kingdom if the one holding them preemptively walks off. In this case, it’s a mere formality. Dawn Staley’s reign over women’s basketball is only growing stronger.
And that’s irritating for the coach who has always held court. Geno Auriemma cited the lack of a formal pre-game handshake as the reason for his mounting frustrations in Connecticut’s semifinal loss to South Carolina on Friday night. And maybe that was a small irritant on a larger scab.
Yet it sure seems like it played cover for a clear shift in the balance of power that has been brewing for a decade. Auriemma and UConn are grasping onto their hold as “the standard” of women’s basketball as vehemently as they can, but it has loosened through 30 years of 24 Final Fours and 12 national championships. Pulling away on their grip is Staley, who has built her South Carolina program into a fresh standard-bearer in her own likeness.
No program has been better over the past decade than hers as they play in their third consecutive championship game on Sunday (3:30 p. m. ET, ABC), facing UCLA.
GOOD MORNING 🗣️ pic. twitter. com/sofhvJGiqZ — South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) April 4, 2026 The numbers she’s assembled scream vintage UConn.
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