When Geno Auriemma discussed benching Breanna Stewart for 'acting like a 12-year-old': "I'd rather lose than watch kids play the way some kids play"

Geno Auriemma and Breanna Stewart will go down in history as one of the best player and coach duos in women's college basketball. Their relationship wasn't always rosy, though. Auriemma recalled during a press conference in the 2016 NCAA Women's Final Four the time he benched Stewart for not playing the right way.

Geno Auriemma didn't like Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck's approach at the start of UConn's game against Memphis on Feb. 7, 2015. He benched his star players after just five minutes and didn't put them back in for the rest of the contest. The other players stepped up in their absence, helping the Huskies pull off an 80-34 win over the Tigers.

Auriemma talked about that incident when asked about the type of players he recruits at UConn in a 2016 press conference.

"Me and my coaching staff, we put a huge premium on body language," Auriemma said. "And if your body language is bad, you will never get in the game. Ever. I don't care how good you are. (1:00)

"If somebody says, 'Well, you just benched Stewie [Breanna Stewart] for 35 minutes in the Memphis game a couple of years ago.' Yeah, I did. 'Oh, that was to motivate her for the South Carolina game the following Monday.' No, it wasn't.

"Stewie was acting like a 12-year-old, so I put her on the bench and said, ‘sit there.’ It doesn’t matter on our team.

"Now, the other coaches might say, ‘Well you can do that because you got three other All-Americans.’ I get that. I understand that. But I’d rather lose than watch kids play the way some kids play."

Geno Auriemma and Breanna Stewart's championship pedigree

Geno Auriemma and Breanna Stewart made history together when they led the UConn Huskies to an incredible four-peat. They won their first title as a pair in 2013 when the Huskies defeated the Louisville Cardinals in the national championship game. Stewart scored 23 points in UConn's 93-60 win.

They successfully defended their title in 2014, beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the final. Stewart scored 21 points for the Huskies, who pulled off a 79-58 victory.

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma (left) hands the 2015 National Champion trophy to forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (#23) as forward Breanna Stewart (#30) looks on. Photo: Imagn

The two teams squared off again in the NCAA title game the following year, with UConn prevailing 63-53 in the rematch. Stewart scored eight points and grabbed 15 rebounds to win her third straight championship.

Stewart finished her college career in style, winning her fourth straight title under Geno Auriemma after UConn defeated Syracuse 82-51 in the 2016 NCAA final. She recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the rout.