Ashlon Jackson hits buzzer-beater to send Duke to Elite Eight over LSU
Ashlon Jackson hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in front of her own bench that nearly rimmed out of the basket to give Duke a 87-85 victory in the Sweet 16.
SACRAMENTO, CA ― The Duke women's basketball team 's season was 2. 6 seconds away from being over. LSU had a 85-84 lead over Duke in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament with nine seconds remaining in the game.
Duke's Taina Mair missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, but the Blue Devils came away with the offensive rebound with two seconds remaining to give them the final look at the basket. Duke's Jordan Wood inbounded the ball to Ashlon Jackson. She sidestepped an airborne Flau'jae Johnson and launched a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in front of her own bench that nearly rimmed out of the basket.
But the ball twirled around the run, ultimately dropping through to give Duke a 87-85 victory over LSU to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. Jackson finished with 19 points, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 2-of-8 from the 3-point line. The buzzer-beating shot marked redemption for Jackson, who missed two free throws with 18 seconds remaining that would have given Duke a 86-83 lead.
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