SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s easy to imagine that LSU head coach Kim Mulkey’s squad, seeded No. 2 in its region and fresh off a 101-47 beatdown of seventh-seeded Texas Tech, came into Friday’s game against a stout Duke team expecting a battle in the trenches. Instead, the Tigers stumbled into a group ready for a shootout.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the Blue Devils’ last-second Sweet 16 win over LSU.
Duke wins with … lots of scoring?
The Blue Devils have put together one of the best scoring defenses in the nation and gave up just 46 points in their second-round victory over sixth-seeded Baylor. Head coach Kara Lawson has garnered a reputation for having stingy, low-scoring teams that force a lot of turnovers but can struggle to score in halfcourt sets. Duke averages a respectable but not mind-blowing 74.5 points per game while allowing just 59.4.
Against the Tigers with an Elite Eight berth on the line, the Blue Devils gave up an unusually high 85 points. This number was far from the most surprising statistic of the night, though. That would be how many Duke scored: 87 — including a buzzer-beating three by guard Ashlon Jackson that swirled around the rim before dropping in to give the third-seeded Blue Devils an upset victory over the Tigers.
“I thought it was an incredible game,” Lawson told reporters afterward. “Both teams played so hard. It was fitting it came down to the last possession. We had squandered away a little bit of a lead there late and luckily got another opportunity with 2 1/2 seconds left. And there was no doubt who I was going to in that situation.”
The game started like so many have this year for Duke: with stifling defense. The Blue Devils held the Tigers without a field goal in the first 4:57 and rode strong paint play from forward Toby Fournier to an early lead.
Still, LSU did everything it could to get back in the driver’s seat. Guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, showing just how capable the Tigers are off the bench, heated up early and scored 18 of her team’s first 40 points.
With LSU largely able to get to the cup despite the Blue Devils’ best efforts, Duke’s offense powered it to this win. Guard Taina Mair and Fournier each scored 22 points, while Jackson posted 19. In the truest sense of the phrase, the squad from Durham, North Carolina, found a way to win — even when it wasn’t necessarily playing its typical brand of basketball.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Boards continue to pay
Another area where Duke overperformed was on the glass. The Blue Devils have been good, but not great, there this season. But the underdogs tallied 20 offensive rebounds, with Fournier and center Arianna Roberson leading the charge with five each.
This was particularly impressive against a team like LSU, which ranks fifth nationally in defensive rebounds per game and third in offensive rebounds per game.
“Rebounding and second-chance points really beat you. I think 19 points they got off second-chance,” Mulkey told reporters postgame. “… We couldn’t grab a rebound. We just couldn’t get three stops in a row. We couldn’t rebound the ball so that we could take off in transition. It was kind of like we were moving in mud.”
Indeed, at the end of the game, it was offensive rebounding that gave Duke another chance at victory. Mair missed a corner three that would have given her team the lead, but Duke forced LSU to tip the loose ball out of bounds and give the Blue Devils another opportunity.
It is important to note as well that Duke didn’t even shoot particularly well on Friday. Jackson was just 6-for-14 from the field and 2-for-8 from beyond the arc, while the team ended up at 42.5% overall. Still, the Blue Devils tracked down just enough rebounds and scored the requisite second-chance points to escape with the win.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
‘A game of runs’
Calling this a back-and-forth game would be putting it mildly. Before Jackson made her game-ending shot, LSU closed the game on a 10-1 run to claw back from a double-digit deficit and into the driver’s seat.
On the other end, three consecutive and-ones from forward Delaney Thomas, Jackson and Fournier had had given the Blue Devils a cushion in the third quarter. The Blue Devils knew, though, that LSU would battle back.
“I think basketball is just a game of runs,” Mair told reporters postgame. “We knew they were going to go on a run eventually throughout the game. The fact that they went on one in the fourth quarter, I mean, obviously it’s not what we wanted. But it happened.”
Ultimately, what decided the game was each team’s ability to survive the other’s hot streaks. The Blue Devils nearly blew it after coming into the final few minutes with a sizable lead. But they did just enough when it mattered to scrape past the Tigers in the final 2.9 seconds.
Next, the Blue Devils will face top-seeded UCLA on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
“[The Bruins] are an amazing team,” Mair said. “And getting ready for them starts today with our recovery. Then we’ll get to practice, doing all that, and we’ll be ready on Sunday.”
Looking for more March Madness stories? Read all our NCAA Tournament coverage at The IX Sports.