"We made 'em a little nervous": When Geno Auriemma recalled being underdogs against Dawn Staley, Virginia in 1991 NCAA Final Four
Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley have established themselves as some of the finest coaches on the college basketball circuit. While the two have faced each other as coaches on several occasions, Auriemma was coaching at UConn when his team came up against Staley when she was playing at Virginia.
In March 2013, Auriemma recalled the time he led the Huskies to the Final Four in 1991 and their opponent was Staley's Virginia.
"All of a sudden we find ourselves in the Final Four, you know, in New Orleans in 1991," Auriemma said to ESPN, with Staley sitting beside him. "And lo and behold, it's Virginia, and they had all the pieces that they needed to compete.
"They had great guard play, obviously, with Dawn and Tammy. They ended up winning the game, and I don't know that anybody on our team or any fans expected, or thought that we could win, but we made 'em a little nervous which was good."
Virginia beat UConn 61–55 in the Final Four in 1991. However, Staley's Cavaliers lost to Tennessee in the national title game.
Although Staley never won the national title as a player at Virginia, she set the NCAA record for steals and the school record for points during her four years with the program.
Staley also played in the WNBA and earned six All-Star honors during her professional career. She has been coaching at South Carolina since 2008.
Meanwhile, Auriemma has been coaching UConn since 1985.
Geno Auriemma's only defeat in a national title game came against Dawn Staley's South Carolina
Dawn Staley is the only coach to beat Geno Auriemma in a national title game. Her Gamecocks handed the Huskies a 64-49 defeat in the championship game in 2022.
More recently, Auriemma's UConn beat Staley's South Carolina in the 2025 national title game, which was played on Sunday.
Auriemma has coached UConn to 13 national title games, winning 12 of them. Meanwhile, Staley has led the Gamecocks to four national championship matchups and has emerged victorious on three occasions.