Duke women’s basketball stuns LSU at the buzzer, returns to Elite Eight
Ashlon Jackson stepped to the free-throw line with 18 seconds to play, Duke up one after watching its double-digit lead shrink in the final minutes of regulation. Jackson, an 83% free throw shooter, missed both. LSU regrouped and took the lead by one. It looked bleak for the Blue Devils.
But Jackson was just entering her redemption era.
With no time left on the clock, Jackson’s step-back 3-pointer caught the rim, tantalizingly twice circling the cylinder before dropping through, leaving Duke elated after an 87-85 win over an equally stunned LSU team that had just clawed back from nine points down with 3:30 to play. Jackson was 1 for 7 prior to hitting her first career game-winner.
“I felt like I was in dream,” Jackson said. “And it was just playing back over and over again before the ball went in.”
Duke’s win came in the shadow of banners among the rafters in Sacramento commemorating coach Kara Lawson’s time in the WNBA. Just over twenty years later, Lawson led her team to its second consecutive NCAA Women’s Tournament Elite Eight appearance behind a well-rounded, tough, and gritty performance over the Tigers.
“We had squandered away a little bit of a lead there late,” Lawson said, noting the mental toll a blown lead can have. “Luckily, we got another opportunity with two and a half seconds left. There was doubt who I was going to in that situation. It was No. 3, and she just made an unbelievable play. So proud of our team’s resilience … but I am not surprised. Not one bit.”
Jackson feels like she’s spent her entire senior season crying, and got choked up when talking about Lawson’s support and the trust her coach had when the season was on the line.
“Being able to at least reward her with that, that’s only a small token” Jackson said. “Yeah, it means the world to me.”
The Blue Devils (27-8) avenged their regular season loss in the ACC-SEC Challenge, bullying their way into the next round while sending LSU (29-6) and Kim Mulkey’s sequins back to Baton Rouge. Duke will face region No. 1 seed UCLA on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The win also gives Duke its second consecutive win over an opponent to which it lost in the regular season after the Devils defeated Baylor in the second round last week. Duke lost to Baylor on opening night of the season in Paris.
The Blue Devils ticked off an 11-0 run early in the final period, giving the team a lead of as many as 10 points with 7 1/2 minutes to play. It looked like they were in the driver’s seat.
But LSU guard Mikaylah Williams, after a quiet first half, made two free throws with nine seconds left to give the Tigers a one-point lead, culminating the Tigers’ own 10-point run.
Duke was led by 22 points each from sophomore Toby Fournier and senior Taina Mair, while Jackson finished with 19 points. Arianna Roberson added nine points and 10 rebounds.
MiLaysia Fulwiley led all players, scoring a career-high 28 points for LSU. Williams contributed 22 points, while Flau’jae Johnson finished with 13.
“We know that they were going to go on a run eventually throughout the game,” Mair said. “The fact that they went on one in the fourth quarter — I mean, obviously it’s not what we wanted, but it happened. Then, Ash hits a big time shot. We just trusted her, and then we ended up with the win.”
Duke defense rules the first half
Duke’s defense stymied the majority of LSU’s first-half offense — except Fulwiley. The Blue Devils couldn’t keep the South Carolina transfer in front, and allowed Fulwiley to score the majority of LSU’s first-half offense. She scored a game-high 18 points through the first two quarters, shooting 7 of 9 from the field. The rest of the team went to the locker room with seven made baskets.
No other player made more than two field goals. Williams and Johnson, LSU’s first and third leading scorers, finished a combined 3-for-13 (23%) from the field in the first half. The duo sat at 15.4% until the final two minutes when Williams made her first 3-pointer of the night. Johnson made one field goal and one free throw.
Duke had far better offensive balance to start the game, with four different players scoring at least nine points and three making at least three buckets. Fournier surpassed the double-figure mark in the opening half, while Jackson, Roberson and Mair added nine points each.
The Blue Devils didn’t shy away from shooting the 3-ball, but they found most of their offense when driving inside. They scored 26 of their 47 first-half points in the paint and went to the line for 10 free throw attempts.
Additionally, Duke moved the ball well, assisting on just over half of its made shots.
The Blue Devils, however, didn’t consistently capitalize on its opportunities. It only scored seven points on eight LSU turnovers and another seven on 11 offensive rebounds. They went 1 of 8 down the stretch, taking a seven-point lead into the half.
Overcoming fouls, turnovers
The Blue Devils got out to a slow start in the second half, getting out-scored 13-5. Mikaylah Williams’ and-1 free throw gave LSU a 53-52 lead, its first since the opening possession.
Duke scored three straight baskets to retake a 61-59 lead into the third-quarter media timeout.
Foul trouble became an issue in the second half after Roberson and Delaney Thomas went to the bench with three fouls with more than 15 minutes left to play. Thomas picked up her fourth with 1:18 left to play. Ultimately, the Blue Devils worked through the foul issues.
Turnovers also got Duke in trouble in the second half. After committing four turnovers in the first, it picked up another four in the third quarter alone. Meanwhile, LSU only added one third-quarter turnover after giving up possession eight times before halftime.
The Tigers and Blue Devils finished with 11 turnovers apiece.
Rebounding was also a major key entering the game. Duke had been outrebounded in all eight of its losses this season, including the first meeting against LSU. On Friday night, it finished with an even 41 against the Tigers.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 12:55 AM.
