March Madness 2025: Duke rides hot 2nd half shooting to 59-53 win over Oregon, advances to Sweet 16
Duke had to fight to get to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's tournament. But the No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 region overcame a poor shooting start with a strong second half and prevailed over No. 10 Oregon, 59-53, on its home court at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Both teams struggled to score early on, but Oregon built a 7-2 lead before Duke tightened its defense and came back to tie the game. The Ducks had two long stretches — lasting five and three minutes, respectively — without scoring, which allowed the Blue Devils to close to within 28-23 at halftime despite scoring only nine points in the first quarter and shooting 36%.
8-0 @Ashlon3Jackson run out of the locker room 🔥
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) March 23, 2025
31-28 Duke | 7:00 3Q | ESPN pic.twitter.com/qLWwnRbQAa
However, Duke came out shooting in the second half with Ashlon Jackson hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points in the third quarter. Jackson finished with 20 points, all scored in the second half, to lead the Blue Devils. She knocked down 5-of-9 3-pointers, providing a major lift to a team in need of a scoring boost.
Deja Kelly matched Jackson with 20 points for Oregon, shooting 8 of 18 from the floor. Ultimately, however, she didn't get nearly enough help on the scoring end. Phillipina Kyei added 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Nani Falatea contributed eight points.
What a shot !! 😮💨 @dejakelly25#MarchMadness x 🎥 ESPN / @OregonWBBpic.twitter.com/vzZAlN5Qbs
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 23, 2025
Oregon stayed close late, thanks to Duke's sloppiness with the basketball and some ill-advised fouls. The Ducks were down 58-53 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation when Duke's Delaney Thomas' foul on Kelly gave Oregon a chance to close to within two or three points. That was also Thomas' fifth foul, taking her out of the game for defensive purposes.
Duke played without freshman center and ACC rookie of the year Toby Fournier, who was out due to illness. She led the Blue Devils with 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season.
The Blue Devils advance to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season under head coach Kara Lawson. They will face the winner between No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 West Virginia, who play at UNC's home floor at Carmichael Arena on Monday night.
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