Duke in the WNBA | Sept. 20–26, 2026
Ashlon Jackson has already given Connecticut Sun fans a moment to remember this season. She gave them one more.
With time running out and emotions running high Thursday night in Uncasville, Jackson — described by Yahoo Sports' Dom Amore as perhaps the "unlikeliest candidate on the floor" — found herself with the ball and a hot hand. She delivered. Jackson finished Connecticut's 95–81 win over Toronto with 18 points, two assists, one rebound, and a +12 plus/minus that told the full story of her impact. The win carried the weight of a playoff-caliber atmosphere, and Jackson was at the center of it.
It was the kind of serendipitous, fate-chosen moment that makes postseason basketball magnetic — and it came from a Blue Devil.
A Week of Swings for Jackson
Jackson's week was anything but linear. She opened the stretch Sunday in a 101–89 loss to Minnesota, contributing 6 points and a +2 in a game Connecticut couldn't hold. Tuesday brought a tougher night — a 79–69 defeat at the hands of Washington, with Jackson posting no points and a -6. But Thursday's performance against Toronto erased all of it. The 18-point, +12 outing was the defining individual performance of the week for any Duke alumna in the league.
Williams Anchors the Sky
While Jackson was making headlines in Connecticut, Elizabeth Williams was doing the quiet, essential work in Chicago. In a Thursday loss to Washington (101–93), Williams posted 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 steals, and a block — a defensive stat line that would turn heads on any given night. A day earlier, she was even better on the glass: 6 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block in Chicago's 97–85 win over Toronto, finishing with a commanding +18 plus/minus. Williams may not be drawing feature headlines, but she's logging the kind of two-way production that anchors a rotation.
Sowah Suits Up in Golden State
Miela Sowah saw action across all three of Golden State's games this week — a 57–70 loss to Seattle on Sunday, an 82–90 defeat to Portland on Wednesday, and a hard-fought 76–75 win over LA on Friday. Box score lines weren't available for Sowah, but the volume of appearances signals she's a consistent presence in the Valkyries' rotation down the stretch.
The week's defining image belongs to Jackson — ball in hand, crowd locked in, history hovering overhead in Uncasville. For Duke alumni tracking Blue Devils in the pros, it doesn't get much more cinematic than that.
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