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 ACC Rookie of the Year who averages 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Coach Kara Lawson told reporters that Fournier was dealing with an illness and wasn’t cleared to play. The Blue Devils learned Fournier would be out shortly before game time, Lawson said.
Jackson shot 5-of-9 on 3-pointers and had four rebounds. 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.
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 behind the arc of the quarter, giving Duke a 10-point advantage.
Oregon managed to trim the deficit to 51-50 with 4:35 to play in the fourth quarter but scored three points the rest of the game.
The win for the Blue Devils marks the first time they have 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.
Duke will next play the winner of Monday night’s game between No. 3 North Carolina and No. 6 West Virginia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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