The LSU women basketball team’s first loss of the season came on a 3-point basket by Kentucky at the buzzer back on New Year’s Day.
The Tigers’ last loss of the season came in the same manner Friday night in Sacramento (Cal.) in a NCAA tournament regional semifinal game.
Ashlon Jackson made a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give Duke an 87-85 victory over LSU.
Close losses have been the story when the Tigers faced the best teams on their schedule this season. LSU played five two-possession games against teams in the Sweet 16. The Tigers’ defeat Friday was their fourth in the five games.
Besides the 80-78 loss to Kentucky, LSU dropped tight games to Vanderbilt by four points and to South Carolina by six points. Now, the Tigers have a one-point setback against the Blue Devils. Recall that LSU won at Duke by 16 points in early December.
It was obvious why the Tigers found themselves in a very competitive game with the Blue Devils in the rematch. LSU had problems stopping Duke much of the night – until the last five minutes. Giving up 87 points usually results in a loss.
The Blue Devils were outshot by the Tigers – making 43 percent of their field goal attempts as compared to 47 percent by their opponents. However, Duke made seven 3-point baskets and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.
Jackson had missed six of her previous seven shots from behind the 3-point line before hitting the game-winner. In fact, LSU nearly completed an impressive rally down the stretch due to its defense.
Taina Mair made a 3-point shot with 5:11 remaining in the game to put the Blue Devils on top 83-73. The Tigers then started their comeback, which was ignited by their defense.
Over the next five minutes, Duke scored on only one possession when Toby Fournier made one of two foul shots with 3:35 left in the game. Down the stretch, the Blue Devils missed seven consecutive field goal attempts and committed three turnovers.
Moreover, Jackson missed a pair of foul shots at the 18-second mark when Duke’s advantage was down to a single point. On the ensuing possession, Mikaylah Williams sank two free throws to give LSU an 85-84 lead with nine seconds remaining in the game.
Mair missed a 3-point shot with six seconds to go in the game. However, the Blue Devils got a second attempt at a victory when the ball went out of bounds off a Tigers player, Duke had just two seconds, but that time was enough for Jackson to make her game-winner.
LSU only had five leads throughout the entire game. Williams opened the scoring in the first quarter with two foul shots. The Blue Devils responded with nine straight points – six coming from Fournier.
The Tigers, who trailed by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, did not take the lead again until the third quarter. In about a 90-second span in that period, LSU took three one-point leads – the last at 57-56 on a basket by Amiya Joyner at the 5:14 mark.
The Tigers needed a huge rally due to a stretch in the fourth quarter when Duke converted three consecutive three-point plays. Fournier was responsible for the third three-point play which put LSU in a 78-67 hole with 7:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
MiLaysia Fulwiley kept the Tigers in the game in the first half when she scored 18 points – nearly half of their 40-point output. Fulwiley finished with a career-best 28 points. Williams had 22 points. Flau’jae Johnson had 13 points in her last game for LSU.
So, there will be no Final Four appearance for a third consecutive season for coach Kim Mulkey’s program. More times than not, this Tigers team was unable to make the necessary plays to win games decided in the final minutes.
