Dawn Staley sympathizes with South Carolina fans after "embarrassing" loss to Geno Auriemma's UConn: "I feel really bad for our fans"

Dawn Staley and the fourth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks had their 71-game home winning streak snapped on Sunday, losing 87-58 to Geno Auriemma's seventh-ranked UConn Huskies at Colonial Life Arena. They had no answer for Azzi Fudd, who scored a game-high 28 points in the rout.

A reporter asked Staley what the high-profile showdown between the Huskies and the Gamecocks meant for the sport of women's basketball as a whole. The South Carolina coach replied that such a matchup is huge for the game, but it would have been much better for the sport if the top-10 showdown was closer.

“You have to have them. I think they move our game forward. The score probably pushes it back a little bit,” Staley said (Timestamp 1:36). "We got to play better. We got to perform better."

Dawn Staley sympathized with the South Carolina supporters, who watched the Gamecocks deliver their worst performance of the season.

“I feel really bad for our fans," Staley said. "I mean, they packed the house, they did their part, and we just really had an embarrassing performance. We got to get things back on track."

"I think we have probably all of our streaks broken this particular year but it was a hell of a ride. I mean to win 71 straight here. We got a chance to start a new streak on Thursday and we got to get back at it," Staley added.

Dawn Staley's South Carolina struggled in loss to UConn

The South Carolina Gamecocks headed into the weekend clash having won each of their last four meetings with UConn dating back to 2021. However, it was Geno Auriemma's Huskies who started out strongly, outscoring South Carolina 21-14 in the first quarter.

Things unraveled for Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks in the second quarter, with UConn outscoring them 24-9 during that period to enter the break with a 45-23 advantage.

The Huskies grabbed that commanding lead despite Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd combining for just 12 points on 4 of 18 shooting in the first half.

Azzi Fudd in action for the UConn Huskies against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Photo: Imagn

Fudd piled more misery on the Gamecocks in the third quarter, scoring 18 of UConn's 25 points during that period. She shot 7 of 9 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from deep, to help the Huskies stretch their lead to 70-44 entering the fourth quarter.

Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers added 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Huskies, who handed Dawn Staley's Gamecocks their first home loss since Dec. 3, 2020.