Ashlon Jackson’s last-shot 3 stunned LSU and etched its place in March Madness lore
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Ashlon Jackson's 3-pointer at the buzzer kept Duke's season alive and was the latest memorable March Madness buzzer-beater in the women's NCAA Tournament over the last decade. It may not have had the same magnitude as Morgan Williams' shot for Mississippi State that ended UConn's 111-game winning streak in the 2017 national semifinals or Arike Ogunbowale's historic game-ending 3-pointers for Notre Dame in the Final Four and NCAA championship game a year later.
Still it's a shot that Duke fans will remember for a long time as it lifted the third-seeded Blue Devils to an 87-85 win over No. 2 seed LSU on Friday night in the Sacramento 2 Regional. “I’m very blessed in order to have that moment.
It’s such a great feeling,” Jackson said. "Like I told my teammates, it really doesn’t even feel real right now. I feel like I’m on cloud nine.
But to be in that conversation is really a blessing. " Trailing by one with 2. 6 seconds left, Jackson caught the ball on the wing and faked out LSU defender Flau'Jae Johnson before putting up the shot right in front of Duke's bench.
The shot rolled around the rim before dropping in, setting off a wild celebration. “My teammates and my coaches, they trust me and they believe in me,” said Jackson, who missed six of her first seven 3-pointers in the game. “And whenever shots aren’t really falling for me, I can’t really hang my head.