COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley says it is time to move past her Final Four skirmish with UConn coach Geno Auriemma that became the talk of the tournament.

Staley released a statement on South Carolina’s X account on Tuesday in which she expressed her respect for Auriemma and said the two have spoken since South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night. The season ended with UCLA’s runaway 79-51 win over South Carolina in Sunday’s national championship game.

“With the college women’s basketball season behind us, it’s time to move forward and close the chapter on how our semifinal game with UConn ended,” Staley wrote in her statement. “I spoke with Geno and I want to be clear — I have a great deal of respect for him and what he’s meant to the game. One moment doesn’t define a career and it doesn’t change the impact he’s had on growing women’s basketball.

“The standard at UConn is what it is because of him, and that’s something this game has benefited from. So I’m asking everyone to turn the page. Let’s refocus on what matters most, continuing to elevate our game, creating opportunities and pushing it forward. That’s always been my mission, and it’s not changing.”

Staley’s statement followed Auriemma’s apology on Saturday after he went over to Staley in the final seconds of Friday night’s game 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.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in his statement on Saturday.

“It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. 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 don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

The Edmonton Oilers forward will play Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth (9:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. MT, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+), coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters.

Dach has been out since March 10 following a hit from Colorado Avalanche defenceman Josh Manson.

Dach was acquired by the Oilers alongside Jason Dickinson from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline.

The native of St. Albert, Alta. has one assist in three games for the Oilers and had three goals and six assists in 53 games with the Blackhawks this season.

Tristan Jarry will start in net.

Another new UFC champion will be introduced this weekend.

UFC 327 takes place this Saturday, April 11, at Miami’s Kaseya Center with fan favourite Jiri Prochazka and streaking contender Carlos Ulberg set to compete for the vacant light-heavyweight championship in a five-round main event.

A second title fight was expected for this card, however, an injury to one of the fighters has postponed the contest.

This weekend’s 12-bout card marks the fourth consecutive year the UFC has held an event in Miami and the ninth year in a row the UFC has gone to Florida.

Here’s everything else you need to know for UFC 327 fight week:

Why is a vacant title at stake in the main event?

Alex Pereira is on a quest to become the UFC’s first three-weight champion when he faces Ciryl Gane in an interim heavyweight title matchup at the White House in June. In order to take on that challenge, “Poatan” vacated his title in the 205-pound division.

That belt will be up for grabs this weekend when Prochazka and Ulberg step into the cage. 

Prochazka, 33, is a one-time champion whose only two losses in the UFC have been to Pereira. The popular Czech star holds wins over fellow former titleholders Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill.

Ulberg, 35 from New Zealand, has won nine in a row and is coming off a first-round knockout over two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes.

What happened to the original co-main event?

A key three-rounder in the 205-pound division between undefeated Azamat Murzakanov and former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa will serve as Saturday’s penultimate bout, but that wasn’t the original plan.

What does the rest of the card look like?

Saturday has a third 205-pound bout when finish-or-be-finished fighters Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker clash. Reyes hasn’t gone the distance since his razor-thin 2020 loss to Jon Jones, and Walker has only seen the scorecards once in the past five years and is coming off a big win in his lone 2025 appearance.

No. 5 heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes will look to hold his spot in the rankings when he faces unranked upstart Josh Hokit, who has stormed out to an 8-0 pro record with eight finishes in only a couple of years after beginning mixed martial arts following a brief stint in the NFL as a tight end and fullback.

The main card kicks off with a farewell to a featherweight legend when 44-fight veteran Cub Swanson competes one last time. The 42-year-old’s final opponent is Nate Landwehr, a fellow respected 145-pounder always willing to throw down. 

The preliminary card is headlined by a fight fans expected to see under the Bellator MMA banner a few years ago. A Patricio Pitbull versus Aaron Pico matchup never materialized, and the Bellator brand was absorbed by the Professional Fighters League, so now the pair of featherweights with 46 combined Bellator bouts get to settle the score in the UFC.

Also on the prelims, Mexican-Canadian strawweight contender Loopy Godinez faces No. 2 contender Tatiana Suarez. Godinez is ranked No. 6 at 115 pounds and is seeking her third consecutive win.

Below is the projected bout order for UFC 327 (subject to change):

— Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg

— Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa

— Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit

— Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker

— Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr

— Patricio Pitbull vs. Aaron Pico

— Mateusz Gamrot vs. Esteban Ribovics

— Kevin Holland vs. Randy Brown

— Tatiana Suarez vs. Loopy Godinez

— MarQuel Mederos vs. Chris Padilla

— Kelvin Gastelum vs. Vicente Luque

— Charles Radtke vs. Francisco Prado

What else is happening during fight week?

Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter and former UFC fighter Diana Belbita are on site in Miami providing coverage throughout the week, so stay tuned to Sportsnet.ca for one-on-one fighter interviews and other content.

Media Day, April 8: Official media events begin Wednesday when participating athletes speak with gathered reporters in downtown Miami.

Pre-fight press conference, April 9: All 10 athletes from the UFC 327 main card are scheduled to participate on Thursday at the Kaseya Center. The event is open to the public and will be available to stream live on Sportsnet+ beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

Official weigh-in, April 10: Fighters will hit the scale Friday morning as they attempt to make weight. Prochazka and Ulberg must weigh no more than 205 pounds for their title fight to be made official. All non-title competitors will be afforded a one-pound allowance, so the other light-heavyweight fighters on the card can weigh up to 206 pounds.

Ceremonial weigh-in, April 10: Later in the day Friday, after the official weights have been recorded and the athletes have begun rehydrating, all participating fighters will square off with their respective opponents at the Kaseya Center on the eve of UFC 327. This will be available to stream live on Sportsnet+ beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

The fights, April 11: Live preliminary card coverage will begin on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT with the pay-per-view main card set to start at 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT available to order through Sportsnet+.

Post-fight press conferences, April 11: Once the event has concluded, fans can stay tuned to Sportsnet+ to watch a selection of winning fighters and UFC president Dana White answer questions from gathered media.