UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma has apologized for his actions during a heated exchange with Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies' loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the women's Final Four. A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolinas 62-48 victory on Friday night and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina. "Theres no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. Its unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut," the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. "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 dont want my actions to detract from that. Ive had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them." Staley said Saturday morning she was focused on the title game against the UCLA Bruins on Sunday and not what happened a night earlier. "For me, no distractions at this time. I'm concentrating on winning a national championship, thats it," Staley said. "Thats a little disheartening. This is sports. Sometimes things like this happen. Continue to focus on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship." Staley later said that she would address it at a later point. After the loss, Auriemma said the exchange was about the lack of a traditional pregame handshake between the coaches. Staley said she was confused Friday night. "I have no idea," the South Carolina coach said after the game. "But Im going to let you know this: Im of integrity. Im of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didnt shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didnt know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staffs hand. "I dont know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on." South Carolina advanced to play UCLA in the title game on Sunday. The Gamecocks are looking for their third championship in five seasons. UConn and South Carolina are set to play each other the next two years with the first game in Connecticut. Reporting by The Associated Press.