No. 8 Duke Takes on No. 2 UCLA Sunday for Trip to Final Four

Sunday, March 29

Sacramento, Calif.

3 p.m.

Duke University

UCLA

Duke outlasts LSU, 87-85, to advance to the Elite Eight

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 8 Duke Takes on No. 2 UCLA Sunday for Trip to Final Four

3/28/2026 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes Watch Live Stats Elite 8 Pregame Quotes

The Opening Tip

Duke is making its 13th appearance in the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils defeated Charleston in the first round, beat No. 6 seed Baylor, 69-46 in the second round and edged LSU, 87-85 in the regional semifinal. The Blue Devils continue the postseason of rematches as they take on UCLA again after falling to the Bruins, 89-59, on Thanksgiving Day.
The Blue Devils are 67-27 all-time in NCAA postseason action and are making their second consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight. Duke, 9-3, in NCAA postseason play is looking to advance to its first NCAA Final Four since 2006.
The Blue Devils are 27-8 overall and ranked eighth in the AP poll. Duke is 24-2 after starting the year 3-6 overall. This will be the first matchup against UCLA in NCAA postseason play with the overall series tied at 2-2.
The Blue Devils are led on offense by All-ACC First Team selection Toby Fournier's 17.5 points per game. Taina Mair is averaging 11.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. Ashlon Jackson is playing both ends of the court at an elite level, dropping 11.5 points per game, a team-best 73 three-pointers and 4.5 assists per game, while drawing the toughest perimeter defensive matchup for Duke's elite defense. Fournier, Delaney Thomas, Mair and Arianna Roberson lead the charge on the glass, averaging 8.0, 6.3, 5.9 and 5.8 rebounds per game, respectively. Thomas also contributes 11.0 points per game on a team-high 62 percent shooting, while Roberson adds 8.3 points and 1.3 blocks per game. Fournier is the top rim protector, averaging 2.2 blocks per game.

Sweet 16 Notables

There were numerous notable performances in Duke's Sweet 16 win over No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked LSU. It was head coach Kara Lawson's first top-five victory and her first when the opponent scores at 80 points. The 87 points were the most by Duke in a NCAA regional semifinal game.
Toby Fournier made 10 free throws to rank fourth in Duke NCAA Tournament history. Her 12 attempts are the third most in a NCAA postseason game at Duke. Fournier got her eighth block in NCAA Tournament games to sit tied for 10th in Duke history.
Taina Mair matched her career high with four threes. It the eighth time a Blue Devil has made four threes in an NCAA Tournament game and just the 13th time a Duke player has sank at least four. Mair also had four assists to give her 34 in NCAA postseason action and rank eighth at Duke.
Ashlon Jackson handed out five assists to push her NCAA Tournament total to 35 - seventh in Duke NCAA postseason lore.

Last Time We Met

UCLA outscored Duke 30-7 in the first quarter and never looked back en route to an easy 89-59 victory at the Players Era Women's Championship.
Ashlon Jackson led all Blue Devils with 18 points, while Toby Fournier had 17. Delaney Thomas rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10. Lauren Betts did not see the court for the Bruins as Gabriel Jaquez led the charge on offense with 23 points. The Bruins shot 13-of-22 (59.1) from distance and 52.5 overall from the floor, while Duke shot 33.8 percent from the field. UCLA won the battle on the glass 43-33.

NCAA Arianna

Redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson has had a good NCAA Tournament, leading Duke in rebounding (9.3/gm) and chipping in 9.0 points per game and blocking eight shots. She is averaging 24.7 minutes per game, seven more than she averaged heading into NCAA postseason action.
Defensively, Roberson's eight blocks are tied for the most and are 20 percent of her total of 40 this season.

DT Time In March

Junior Delaney Thomas has shined in March. She is averaging 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in the seven games. She is shooting 60 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line.
In postseason play, Thomas is averaging 14.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game and shooting 65 percent from the floor.
Thomas has registered double digits in five of the seven games in March and in four of the six postseason contests. Thomas is a force on the offensive glass, averaging an impressive 4.2 offensive rebounds per game in postseason play.
Thomas has been consistent force throughout her career. Averaging 7.7 points per game over three seasons, Thomas has shot at least 50 percent in 65 of her 105 career games. She owns 38 double-digit scoring games, 20 of which have come in the past 30 games. She is averaging 11.0 points per game this season, up 3.9 from last season.
On the defensive end of the floor, Thomas averages 4.8 rebounds per game for her career and has collected five-plus rebounds in 46 contests. She is second on the team this season, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, and is second with 62 steals and leads the team with eight drawn charges.

Chart Climbers

The trio of Toby Fournier, Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair are peppered throughout the Duke and ACC record books.
Fournier hit the 1,000-point benchmark in her 66th career game, making her the fifth fastest Blue Devil to reach 1,000 career points. She sits behind Chris Moreland (50), Lexie Brown (53), Alana Beard (56) and Katie Meier (62). Fournier sits in ninth in Duke single-season history with 78 blocks. She is just the fifth different Blue Devil to post 70 denials in a season and is three away from tying for eighth at Duke.
Fournier has shot 210 free throws this season to rank seventh in Duke single-season history. A Blue Devil has shot at least 200 free throws in a season six times and not since Monique Currie in 2004-05.
Duke senior point guard Taina Mair is climbing her way up both the Duke and ACC assists charts. With eight assists against Charleston, Mair took over sole possession of seventh on the ACC career assists chart. She pushed her total to 669 with four against LSU.
In three seasons at Duke, Mair has 452 assists to sit sixth in Duke career history, passing Jasmine Thomas Friday night.
Mair has 195 assists on the season to sit second in Duke single-season history. Chelsea Gray (2010-14) holds the record at 201 in 2011-12.
Ashlon Jackson hit five threes at North Carolina to pass Abby Waner for third in career history and has 233 overall. Jackson has 73 threes this season, becoming the third Blue Devil to record at least 70 trifectas in multiple seasons. Jackson owns two of the top nine single-season performances from distance. Jackson also has been a major playmaker for the Blue Devils, dishing 159 assists to rank fifth on the Duke season chart.
Jackson and Mair are two of Duke's best free throw shooters. In three seasons, Mair is 116-of-137 (.847), which stands at fourth in Duke history. Jackson is 189-of-232 (.815), which would rank sixth in Duke history. Only six Blue Devils have finished their career shooting at least 80 percent from the line with a minimum of 100 attempts. Mair and Jackson will be the seventh and eighth.

Blue Devils vs The Top 25

In Duke's 11 matchups against AP Top 25 opponents, the Blue Devils have five players averaging double digits. The Blue Devils are shooting 40 percent from the floor and 33 percent from distance.
Taina Mair has played especially well in the 11 games, averaging 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She is the only Division I player to average 10 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game when playing multiple AP Top 25 opponents.
Toby Fournier averages 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. She is one of six Division I players to average at least 12 ppg, 7 rpg and 1.5 bpg.
Ashlon Jackson chips in 13.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She scored double figures in nine of the 11 games.

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