Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley history timeline: Head-to-head record & more to know about championship game coaches | Sporting News

Coaching greats Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley have faced off plenty of times before, but it doesn't get any bigger than the national championship game.

Auriemma and Staley will do battle again on Sunday with a title on the line, meeting on this stage for the second time in four years.

Three years after Staley and South Carolina climbed the mountaintop and cut down the nets, Auriemma and UConn are hoping for a bit of revenge and a remarkable 12th title for the legendary coach.

Auriemma and Staley have praised each other before, but the Huskies great has been critical of her Gamecocks in the past.

"It's just appalling what teams do to [UConn guard Lou Lopez Senechal] now," Auriemma told reporters after a particularly physical regular season game in 2023.

"It's not basketball anymore.

I don't know what it is, but it's not basketball." Basketball will be played on Sunday in Tampa, but each coach is hoping to set the tone early and play their style from tip-off to the final buzzer.

Here's a look at the history between Auriemma and Staley, from the 1990s to 2025.

Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley history timeline Dawn Staley vs.

Geno Auriemma as a player Staley faced Auriemma twice during her playing career, while Auriemma was already in his early years as UConn's head coach.

Season Result Setting 1990-91 Virginia 61, UConn 55 Final Four 1991-92 Virginia 65, UConn 43 Regular season Staley eliminated Auriemma's Huskies in the Final Four in 1991, with Virginia outlasting UConn 61-55 before falling to Tennessee in the national championship game.

She faced UConn again in her final season at Virginia, easily winning a regular season matchup in a year that would end with another narrow title game loss for the Cavaliers.

It would be 17 seasons until Staley faced Auriemma again, this time as a coach.

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Geno Auriemma as a coach Staley didn't face Auriemma during her eight seasons as Temple's head coach, missing the brief overlap between the Owls and Huskies in the AAC a few years later, but Sunday marks her 15th matchup with Auriemma since she took the reins at South Carolina.

Here are the results of their previous 14 matchups: Season Result Setting 2008-09 UConn 77, South Carolina 48 Regular season 2014-15 UConn 87, South Carolina 62 Regular season 2015-16 UConn 66, South Carolina 54 Regular season 2016-17 UConn 66, South Carolina 55 Regular season 2017-18 UConn 83, South Carolina 58 Regular season 2017-18 UConn 94, South Carolina 65 Elite Eight 2018-19 UConn 97, South Carolina 79 Regular season 2019-20 South Carolina 70, UConn 52 Regular season 2020-21 UConn 63, South Carolina 59 Regular season 2021-22 South Carolina 73, UConn 57 Regular season 2021-22 South Carolina 64, UConn 49 National championship 2022-23 South Carolina 81, UConn 77 Regular season 2023-24 South Carolina 83, UConn 65 Regular season 2024-25 UConn 87, South Carolina 58 Regular season MORE UCONN NEWS How Paige Bueckers compares to other all-time UConn greats Why isn't Azzi Fudd going to the WNBA? Revisiting Paige Bueckers' injury history, recovery from ACL tear Explaining Kaitlyn Chen's family tree, Taiwanese heritage Staley was hired at South Carolina in 2008, but it took until 2020 for her to pick up her first win over Auriemma and UConn.

That's partly the result of the two programs playing in different conferences they only matched up once in Staley's first six seasons with the Gamecocks but it's also a testament to the Huskies' dominance in the 2010s.

Now, however, Staley has won five of her last seven matchups with Auriemma.

Staley and Auriemma have faced off twice in the NCAA Tournament, including the Gamecocks' win in the 2022 national championship game.

Sunday's title game battle will be their third NCAA Tournament meeting.

Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley head-to-head record Auriemma is 9-5 all-time against Staley, or 9-7 if you include Staley's playing career.

Staley, however, is 5-2 over her past seven matchups with Auriemma.

UConn snapped a four-game losing streak against South Carolina with a regular season blowout win earlier this season.

While Staley and South Carolina are the reigning national champions, Auriemma enters Sunday favored to win this battle of heavyweights and capture his 12th title..

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