Story by
Ashlon Jackson hits buzzer-beater to send Duke to Elite Eight over LSU
- Story by
- Ashlon Jackson hits buzzer-beater to send Duke to Elite Eight over LSU
SACRAMENTO, CA ― The Duke women's basketball team 's season was 2.6 seconds away from ending.
LSU had a 85-84 lead over Duke in the Sweet 16 round of the 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament with nine seconds remaining in the game. Duke senior guard Taina Mair missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, but the Blue Devils came away with the offensive rebound with two seconds remaining to give Duke the final look at the basket.
Advertisement
Duke' junior forward Jordan Wood inbounded the ball to senior guard Ashlon Jackson . She sidestepped an airborne Flau'Jae Johnson and launched a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in front of her own bench. The ball nearly rimmed out of the basket, before it twirled around the rim and ultimately dropped in to give Duke a 87-85 victory over LSU. The win punched Duke's ticket to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.
"I'm very blessed in order to be have that moment, it is such a great feeling," said Jackson, who finished with 19 points, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 2-of-8 from the 3-point line. "I told my teammates it really doesn't even feel real right now. I feel like I'm a cloud nine, but to be in that conversation is really a blessing."
Jackson missed two free throws that would have given Duke a 86-83 lead with 18 seconds remaining. She shot 1-of-7 from the 3-point line up until the final possession of the game, but Jackson didn't hesitate to take the final shot with Duke's season on the line.
Advertisement
"My teammates and my coaches, they trust me and they believe in me," Jackson said. "And you know, whenever shots aren't really falling for me, I can't really hang my head, you know, like that. That's just how the game goes. Every competitor knows that. But just having that faith from them and that belief from them, really all I needed. It's pretty it's pretty simple. That's pretty much it."
The team surrounded Jackson in celebration in front of Duke's bench.
Following the win, Duke head coach Kara Lawson ran into the stands and jumped the rail to share an embrace with Blue Devil alumni Chelsea Gray . "I think I climbed... but I'll take jump," Lawson joked.
"I mean Chelsea obviously is our most decorated alum when you look at what she's done at the professional level. Such a great supporter," said Lawson, who coaches the Las Vegas Aces superstar on the U.S. women's national team. "We have a great relationship and she flew in here for this game to support us. ... You want to share that with the people that have been there for you.
"And so that section is a group that's been there for us. They sat there when we were 3-6 (to start the season) too and they supported us and so it felt right to celebrate with them, because they're the biggest reasons why we're all here."
Advertisement
The team followed Lawson into the stands and they each gave Gray a hug as she applauded their efforts.
The No. 3-seeded Blue Devils advance to play No. 1 UCLA on March 29 (3 p.m., ABC).
Reach USA TODAY National Women's Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson .
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more .
This story was updated to change a video.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ashlon Jackson hits buzzer-beater to send Duke to Elite Eight over LSU
