LSU players, coaches and fans alike watched helplessly through the final buzzer Friday as Duke senior guard Ashlon Jackson’s 3-pointer from the wing spun two full revolutions around the rim before falling heartbreakingly through.
The No. 2 Lady Tigers (29-6) had battled back valiantly from slow starts to both the game and the fourth quarter to reclaim a one-point edge with a 10-0 run down the stretch of the Sweet 16 battle in Sacramento.
But, with 2.6 seconds remaining, Jackson fought through the scrum of screeners and defenders near the baseline inbound, caught the pass, stepped back, shot-faked by a Flau’jae Johnson close-out and fired the dagger that would break LSU’s hearts and end its season, 87-85.
“I lost a national championship with seven tenths of a second to go, so I’ve been in those situations before, and I feel the same,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “It’s heartbreaking for your team. It’s heartbreaking for your players and fans. But I’ve been around a long time. I’ve seen endings like that. I’ve been a part of those endings. It takes a while to get over it, but you go in the locker room and you hug their necks and you tell them what a wonderful year we had and you put yourself in a position to win the game. You put yourself a position to win the game, and a crazy shot like that beat you.
“But, rebounding and second-chance points really beat you. I think 19 points they got off second-chance. We couldn’t grab a rebound. And you look at the stats and we have the same number of rebounds, but that’s misleading. We just couldn’t get three stops in a row. We couldn’t rebound the ball so that we could take off in transition. And it just kinda like we were moving in mud. But we did fight to the bitter in and put ourselves still in a position to win.”
The No. 3 Lady Blue Devils (27-8) had controlled much of the first half with a mixture of their sticky defense and some deflating LSU misses of even good looks at the basket holding the Lady Tigers’ starting lineup to a 3-for-18 (16.7%) start from the floor and at one point an 11-point second-quarter deficit.
But junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, on her way to a career-high 28 points, and the bench provided a critical spark and kept the team just within striking distance until Johnson, Mikaylah Williams (Parkway) and company were able to find their mark and join in the double-digit rally.
“I think my main focus was just coming in and trying to do anything I can to help my team win or stay in the game,” Fulwiley said. “And I think I was finding the right spots, and that kinda helped me.”
The Lady Tigers scratched their way ahead, 53-52, on a Williams three-point play midway through the third quarter for their first lead since the game’s first basket and were within 67-65 heading to the fourth.
Duke raced to an 11-2 start to the final period, but LSU remained undeterred and responded by shutting the Lady Blue Devils out for more than three and a half minutes and working its way right back on top on a pair of second-chance Williams free throws with 9.2 seconds to play.
“We just started real lethargic for whatever reason,” Mulkey said. “We didn’t play with a sense of urgency or energy until it was about five minutes to go in the game and we were down eight, and then we turned it up. And so I ask myself as a coach, ‘Why did we not start like that?’ And so you just kind of think as a coach, ‘What made us like that?’ I would say certain things the defense and your opponent does, but your energy and your excitement is not something that the other team keeps you from doing. We got back in the game doing what we normally do.”
Fulwiley and Williams shouldered the scoring load during the late push, but the entire lineup flew around defensively with Johnson and sophomore guard Jada Richard (Lafayette Christian) deflecting passes and closing out on shooters and sophomore forward Kate Koval blocking a shot.
But the clock left the Lady Blue Devils just enough time for a quick, open 3 from the far corner and then a second-chance opportunity to set up the Jackson buzzer-beater that will leave for years to come as a highlight in Durham, N.C., and heartbreaker in Baton Rouge.
“Frustration,” Williams said. “As a competitor, obviously nobody wants to lose — especially like that. And then knowing there was a lot of things that was us, that had us in that position. And then frustration for myself knowing that I’m back here again in my junior year not making it to the Final Four.”
Ashlon Jackson with the buzzer-beater to send Duke to the Elite Eight🚨
🎥: @SportsCenter
pic.twitter.com/csFaaPMsmI— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 28, 2026
Fulwiley led all players with 28 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
Williams and Johnson overcame 1-for-6 (16.7%) and 1-for-7 (14.3%) starts, respectively, to both finish 6-for-15 (40%) overall for 22 and 13 points, respectively, with five rebounds each and 9-for-9 foul-shooting for Williams that loomed large late.
Senior forward Amiya Joyner and freshman forward Grace Knox scored nine and seven, respectively, off the bench and each grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
“You start with your seniors, and you think them for an unbelievable career, an unbelievable year,” Mulkey said. “When you invest in things, it’s harder to accept. And seniors have Flau’jae with four years, Izzy (Besselman) with four years and Amiya Joyner with one year, you thank them, because they invested in this program, and they’ve won a lot of games. You remind that that nothing I say’s gonna make them feel better in the moment and that the sun will come up tomorrow and you’re gonna have wonderful memories from your time at LSU. And then you go and you hug each one of ’em, and you let ’em cry. I don’t find that a bad thing. If you don’t cry, you’re not really invested and you don’t care. And it’s OK to cry, and it’s OK to hurt. And then each day gets better.”
Sophomore forward Toby Fournier and senior guard Taina Mair tied for Duke’s team lead with 22 points each, along with nine boards, three steals, a block and an assist by the former and five rebounds, four assists and two steals by the latter.
Jackson added 19 points, a game-high five assists, two rebounds and a steal.
And freshman center Arianna Roberson provided a big post performance from a short Lady Blue Devils bench with nine points, game-highs of 10 rebounds and three blocked shots and a steal.
“They just grabbed it at the important times,” Williams said of allowing 20 offensive rebounds. “We couldn’t get it at the important time.”
Duke achieved its second-straight revenge of a regular-season loss, eliminating No. 6 Baylor (25-9) and LSU during the past week, and will now have an opportunity at a third Sunday against No. 1 UCLA (34-1).
The Lady Tigers fall short of the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022, and Johnson’s decorated career in purple and gold comes to an emotional conclusion just one win shy of Sylvia Fowles‘ record for most career wins and four wins shy of a potential storybook ending.
“I think I’ve expressed it numerous times what Flau’jae has meant to our program, so I would be repeating all the things I’ve said before,” Mulkey said. “She was the first McDonald’s (All-American) we signed at LSU before we ever won a championship. She got a championship her freshman year. She was Freshman of the Year in the SEC. She has two careers that she’s doing every day of her life, wakes up every day at 5 o’clock. She spent four years at the same institution. The list goes on.
“And so much appreciation to her for being who she is. She has a joyous spirit about her, and she helped us win many ball games, and she also won a championship.”
