DURHAM, N.C. — Ashlon Jackson scored 14 of her 20 points in the third quarter to power No. 2 seed Duke to a 59-53 victory over 10th-seeded Oregon in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament Sunday.
Duke (28-7) played without leading scorer Toby Fournier, the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year who averages 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson said the 6-foot-2 Canadian forward “wasn’t feeling well,” and team doctors didn’t clear her to play.
“We found out right before the game. That’s the way it goes,” Lawson said. “So, I don’t have a diagnosis, or a timetable either.”
Jackson shot 5-of-9 on 3-pointers and had four rebounds in Fournier’s absence. Reigan Richardson added 13 points while Delaney Thomas scored 12.
In her eighth career game against Duke, former North Carolina guard Deja Kelly finished with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting for the Ducks (20-12). Phillipina Kyei had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Oregon held a five-point advantage at halftime but came out cold in the second half, failing to make a field goal for the first six minutes of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Jackson had the hot shooting hand.
“I got tired of missing. It’s simple,” Jackson said. “But yeah, just seeing the ball go in, it was a great thing.”
Beginning with a 3-pointer off a feed from Jadyn Donovan, Jackson broke off an 11-0 run of her own to help Duke take the lead. She capped off a 16-1 run for the Blue Devils by connecting on her fourth shot from beyond the arc of the quarter, giving Duke a 10-point advantage.
“We just came up a little short today,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “Usually, the third quarter has been our quarter, and today Duke came out and just kind of put their foot down.”
The win for the Blue Devils marks the first time they’ve advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons since they went to four straight Elite Eights under former coach Joanne P. McCallie more than a decade ago, the last of those coming in 2013.
“It was a gritty game. It’s what we expected,” Lawson said. “It’s hard to go to back-to-back Sweet 16s. It’s not something that a lot of programs are able to do.”
