Ashlon Jackson made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Duke Blue Devils an 87-85 victory over LSU in an NCAA Tournament round of 16 game Friday night in Sacramento, Calif.
LSU, the No. 2 regional seed, took an 85-84 lead with 9 seconds left on two free throws by former Parkway star Mikaylah Williams. The free throws capped a 10-0 run that started with 3:35 left.
Duke’s Taina Mair missed a 3-pointer. The ball went out of bounds and the Blue Devils retained possession with 2.6 seconds left. After an LSU timeout, Ashlon Jackson put up a contested shot from just behind the arc. The ball came close to spinning out of the basket before falling through the net.
LSU finished 29-6. Duke (27-8), the No. 3 seed, will play No. 1 UCLA (34-1), which defeated 80-56 in the other semifinal, for a spot in the Final Four Sunday.
LSU was behind most of the game. The Tigers trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half. The got as close as four late in the second quarter but trailed 47-40 at the break.
LSU rallied and took a 53-52 lead on two Williams’ free throws with 6:37 left in the third quarter. The game remained tight and the Blue Devils took a 67-65 lead into the fourth quarter.
With the game tied at 67, Duke went on a 10-0 run for a 78-67 lead with 7:35 left in the game.
The Blue Devils led 84-75 with 3:35 left.
LSU then rallied again. A layup by Williams cut the lead to 84-81 with 2:11 left. Williams made a short jumper to get the Tigers within one with 1:03 to play.
Duke’s Jackson missed two free throws with 19 seconds left. Williams then made the two to put LSU by one.
But Jackson made up for the missed free throws with the 3-pointer for the win.
MiLaysia Fulwiley led LSU with 28 points with 18 of those coming in the first half.
Williams finished with 22 points. She was 6-of-15 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. She also had five rebounds.
Flau’jae Johnson scored 13 in her final game.
Toby Fournier and Mair led Duke with 22 points each. Jackson scored 19.
LSU shot 42 percent (31-of-73) from the field, including 7-of-26 from 3-point range. Duke shot 46 percent (33-of-71), including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers.
LSU was 16-of-17 from the free throw line. Duke was 18-of-23.
Both teams had 11 turnovers.