Paige Bueckers Addresses 'Unfortunate' Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley Altercation at Women's Final Four

UConn legend Paige Bueckers was disappointed to see the sideline exchange between Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina's Dawn Staley become a dominant subplot of the Final Four.

"It's unfortunate, just because there's so much good basketball being played," she told TMZ Sports. "UCLA had a dominant run. South Carolina was playing great basketball. I feel like those should be the storylines."

Toward the end of UConn's 62-48 loss to South Carolina in the national semifinals, Auriemma walked toward Staley, and the two had a tense interaction. Once the game actually ended, Auriemma walked off the court without going through the traditional handshake line.

During his postgame press conference, the 12-time national champion vented his frustration with how the game was officiated, and he referenced Staley supposedly snubbing him before the game.

Huskies star Sarah Strong contradicted one of her coach's claims when she said she accidentally tore her own jersey, which Auriemma thought resulted from contact with a South Carolina player.

Staley and Auriemma also shook hands prior to the tip, so it's unclear what he meant when he told reporters he "waited there for like three minutes" on the court as Staley avoided him.

He eventually issued an apology a day after the defeat.

"There's no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina," he said. "It's unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don't want my actions to detract from that. I've had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them."

South Carolina was soundly beaten 79-51 by UCLA in Sunday's title game.

Staley told reporters after the game she had yet to hear directly from Auriemma and shifted the focus toward the Bruins as they lifted their first-ever national championship.