Mt. Pulaski Lady Toppers are headed
to State; reach Final Four with a 32-1 record
[March 03, 2026]
The Mount Pulaski Lady Toppers are headed to CEFCU Arena in
Normal, Illinois to play in the IHSA Class 1A State Finals this
Thursday. Game time is 10:00 a.m. and their opponent will be Brown
County.
The girls played an outstanding game on Monday night against the
Edwards County Lions to win the Class 1A Super-Sectional in Arcola.
The game was exciting from start to finish, with Mount Pulaski
pulling away in the fourth quarter to win 48-38.
It was a tremendous effort by everyone and a game that will be
talked about for decades to come. The Mount Pulaski fans and the
Edwards County fans filled the gym to the rafters and the atmosphere
was electric.
Fans of all ages brought the energy. Seated behind the Mount Pulaski
bench was a group of little boys and girls who cheered their hearts
out all night long. Not far from them was 93 year-old dedicated
lifetime fan, Dean Cates. Rich and Marilyn Edwards, whose son played
on the 1984 runner-up team that beat Providence St. Mel in the
semifinals, were also seated near the Lady Toppers bench. The
Edwards’ never missed a home game and they initially did not plan on
traveling to away games but they broke that rule a while back. The
list could go on and on with dedicated fans, young and old.
Mount Pulaski certainly had a battle on their hands with the Lions
hungry for a trip to state with eight seniors on the roster, five
who started. Two of those girls were 6’1 and ‘6’2 respectively. The
Lions also have a girl in the 2,000 point club and another one in
the 1,000 point club.
The Lions bowed out in the sectionals last year and were very eager
to advance farther this season. The Lions came into the game with a
29-5 record and riding a 19-game winning streak. They lost four
games early in the season when one of their starters was out. They
also lost a game to a team from Indiana. All season long they never
lost to a 1A school, that is until they met Mount Pulaski.
The Lady Toppers start two seniors, two juniors and one very tough
sophomore. When it was all said and done, the Mount Pulaski girls
were like annoying little sisters who just wouldn’t go away. They
wore the Lions down, made them miss some shots in the paint and did
an excellent job to shut down their outside shooters.
Senior Elayna Marten played a huge role not just on defense but also
she poured in twelve points and really ignited Mount Pulaski in that
first quarter. Mount Pulaski stat keeper, Steve Nichols, said Marten
played her best game so far against the Lions. Marten also had seven
rebounds and one steal.
It’s been a long time coming but now she’s headed to the state
tournament.
“I can’t believe,” said Marten, “It doesn’t feel real yet. We’ve
been working on this for so long. We’ve been putting in so much
effort and perseverance. I am just so blessed to have this
opportunity, to have this team and this coach. I am incredibly
thankful for this.”
Marten, one of three girls who has a fair amount of girl cousins,
laughed about the annoying little sister reference.
“We may be smaller but our determination isn’t,” she said. “We put
our minds to it and we just knew we could get in there and play. We
wanted it and we were going to push til the very last buzzer no
matter what the outcome. We were just going to push and give it our
all the entire game and that’s what we did.”
Mount Pulaski’s other senior, Alyson Murphy, led the team with 22
points. Murphy also had five assists and four steals. As soon as she
flashed the super-sectional plaque to the students gathered on the
floor, the chants of “MVP” could be heard loud and proud.
“I definitely feel amazing,” said Murphy. “I have no words. But this
community, holy cow. You would never be able to tell that we only
have 1,500 people in our town. Everybody has been showing out for
every single game. They have our backs. Their support means more
than the world to us. I could not have been blessed with a better
group of girls. We’ve been playing with each other for a very long
time. But this year we really connected and it’s shown. It feels
great. I am so glad we are here.”
Murphy has had a winning mentality since she got out of diapers.
That kind of runs in her family with her mom, Heather, and her aunt,
Lisa. Both of them had plenty of experience playing at the state
tournament in volleyball. Murphy has made it clear that losing is
not an option for this team.
“When we got down in the third quarter by like eight points, I
looked at McVick during a timeout and said, “We’re not losing. This
is our game.” And once we were down it kind of made us feel like we
gotta go and we gotta go now. We got up and then the fourth quarter
came and we did it,” said Murphy.
Addison Brown, a junior who scored eight points and had four
rebounds and three steals, also refuses to lose. She came up huge
with a couple threes that really got the crowd going.
“I don’t want to lose,” said Brown. “No one on the team wants to
lose so we’re going to put in everything to win. Like we do not want
to lose. That’s not our goal.”
As for the win and the upcoming trip to CEFCU Arena this week, Brown
said, “I feel amazing. I just got a memory from two years ago and it
said “This is about to be us.” And it was at ISU. So I sent it to
our group chat and I was like, “We gotta go. Let’s go!” And now
we’re going.”
Brown is taking her dad, Chris, with her. He is a long-time
assistant to McVickers.
Audrey Cooper, the other junior who starts, is the one who handles a
great deal of pressure with ease by running the point. Did she feel
the pressure against the Lions?
“A little bit. I just kind of take it,” said Cooper. “I know that I
have my angels up in heaven with me and they’re going to guide me
through it.”
Cooper was in control of the offense and also had four rebounds to
go along with a steal. The moment was still sinking in after all the
pictures and interviews following the win.
“I feel great,” she said. “It kind of just hit me here a second ago
when I was talking to my grandma. I just kind of broke down and was
like oh my gosh, this is crazy. It’s unreal.”
The final starter, Olivia Smith, was a huge reason the Lady Toppers
took the 48-38 victory over Edwards County. She has also been a key
factor this entire season. She played basketball in grade school but
did not pick up a basketball her freshman year. This season she’s
been a real game changer and she was locked in on Monday night.
Smith had two really tall girls and another very athletic girl, who
was very dominant in the paint, to keep her busy all night long.
Smith used her strength to pull down ten rebounds. She also had
three assists and two steals. She knows her role on the team and she
excels in it.
“I am just so excited that I’ve gotten to this point,” said Smith.
“I love playing with my teammates. And I know they always have my
back. I know my part. My part is mainly defense and my part tonight
was getting in front of their big girls and not letting them score.”
The two big girls combined to score just 12 points. Smith did a
great job on them.
Edwards County had just one girl in double-figures, Grace Bishop.
She led the Lions with 20 points. Bishop is a three-sport athlete
who really excels at softball. Volleyball is her next best sport and
basketball comes in at third place. In her third-best sport, she has
scored 2,000 points.
As far as other stats, Mount Pulaski out-rebounded Edwards County
26-25. Mount Pulaski also handled the ball well. The Lady Toppers
had eight turnovers. The Lions had fourteen turnovers.
Coach Ryan McVickers was leaping in the air Monday night just ahead
of the final buzzer, always animated and obviously elated at his
team’s victory. It was just a step towards the goal the team has had
from the beginning of the season.
“This has been our goal from day one,” said McVickers. “We wanted to
make it to Redbird Arena and oh my gosh, they celebrated the entire
way home. They were singing songs on the bus. They were loud. They
were crazy. But most of all they were just being themselves. I’ve
mentioned before that they sing songs on the way to all the games.
And that’s what I love about this team. They are just so close and
they just love each other. You can tell that as they’re playing.
They share the ball so well. They all fight for each other. You can
just tell they all love being around each other.”
McVickers is truly enjoying this team.
“I will take every single minute for the rest of the year that I can
to be with them,” he said. “This is just such a special group. We
just want to keep on going and keep on winning. Hopefully we can
have that extra time on Saturday as well.”
The state championship game for Class 1A will be at 10:00 a.m. on
Saturday. The third place game is Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
First things first, to recap Monday night’s win, the Mount Pulaski
girls just owned that fourth quarter and McVickers agreed.
“Yes they did,” he said. “The first half took us a while to adjust
to their size. We hadn’t really seen the teams that have multiple
six-foot girls. So it took us a little while to adjust. But then in
the second half once we figured it out we were locked down on
defense. The good thing was since we are so quick we could keep on
going around them and then we were making the right decisions.”
As far as Murphy’s comment in the timeout, McVickers smiled.
“For me, I actually stayed pretty calm, too, because once she told
me that, I thought, “Yea, you’re right.” And I’ve said it all year,
“Aly is not going to let us lose.” And once again, Aly did not let
us lose. But in all honesty, it was not just her tonight either. I
thought Elayna Marten did a great job. She hit two huge threes in
the first quarter to get us going. Audrey Cooper, the way she always
handles the ball and controls the tempo, was great. In the third
quarter it was Addy Brown’s turn to hit two threes. But then the
whole game, I would still say team MVP tonight was Liv Smith. The
way that she just battled their 2,000 point scorer and just did a
great job battling for every single loose ball and every single
rebound. Liv really held down their 2,000 point scorer in the second
half.”
McVickers also credited Murphy and Cooper with doing a great job on
Lola Nussmeyer, the 6’2 guard who scored her 1,000th point this year
for the Lions.
[to top of second column] |
The Lady Toppers beat the the Edwards
County Lions Monday night to win the Class 1A Super-Sectional in
Arcola. They head to the CEFCU Arena in Normal to play Brown County
at 10 a.m. Thursday. Photo by Teena Lowery.
Alyson Murphy and Elayna Marten proudly hold the ticket to
State, the Super-Sectional plaque. Photo by Teena Lowery.
Eva Leonard and Olivia Smith volunteered as hosts at the
state volleyball tournament. Now they get a chance to hit the court
for the state basketball tournament. Photo by Teena Lowery.
Once again, it was just a tremendous game and it was played the
right way. Both teams had excellent athletes, giving it their all.
Great sportsmanship on both sides.
Mount Pulaski just gets to punch their ticket to State and take a
whole town with them.
First quarter
Edwards County won the opening tip and in less than five seconds
they were on the board with a layup by Grace Bishop. Mount Pulaski’s
answer came twenty seconds later on a corner three by Elayna Marten
with a loud Lions student section in her ear. A minute passed by
before the Lions took the lead on a bucket by Bishop again. Edwards
County would extend that lead to 7-3 after Lola Nussmeyer scored in
the paint and dropped in the “and one” following a foul on the shot.
Alyson Murphy chipped away at the lead with a bucket at the 5:26
mark. Following a steal by Mount Pulaski and a number of missed
shots in one possession, Marten finally snagged the rebound and put
it up for two points and a tie game. Bishop gave her team the lead
again on a bucket with 3:57 on the clock and then it was Murphy’s
turn for the tie again at the 3:29 mark.
This game was a battle of the 2,000 point scorers to start with
Bishop and Murphy both in that very elite club.
Murphys next move was a steal and that led to a pass to Addison
Brown for the layup and the lead. These two teams were so quick that
each lead was short-lived. With 2:55 on the clock the Lions jumped
in front on the basket and the “and one” by Shayla Ewing. In the
blink of an eye Bishop scored again to put the Lions up 14-11.
Murphy did not waste any time finding space to drive the baseline
and pour in two more points, even drawing a foul. She sank her free
throw, bringing the score to an even 14-14. Nussmeyer’s bucket broke
that tie at the 1:42 mark. Marten was keeping her team in it from
beyond the arc in the first quarter and her three at the 1:21 mark
gave Mount Pulaski a one-point lead. Bishop tied the game shortly
thereafter with a free throw and after Murphy missed a three during
Mount Pulaski’s next possession, the game remained tied at 17-17
when the quarter ended.
Second quarter
Bishop was on a mission for her team and she broke the tie with a
basket to open the second quarter. Mount Pulaski was having some
tough luck scoring at their end. Murphy, Brown and Marten each
missed a handful of shots in the first two minutes. Finally a steal
by Murphy gave her the momentum to take it all the way for two
points. She got fouled and with the free throw, Mount Pulaski was
back on top. The story just keeps repeating itself with Bishop
making good on one free throw to make it a 20-20 ballgame. Even
after Olivia Smith gave Mount Pulaski a 22-20 lead, the Lions only
needed ten seconds to make a basket for the tie. Nussmeyer scored
that basket. The Lions almost took the lead on a bucket by Nussmeyer
again but Smith put a clean block on her shot that was very
impressive. Nussmeyer is a solid 6’2.
The Lions would end up taking a lead into the locker room on a three
by Grace McCarty. McCarty is 6’1 and likes to shoot from the outside
but the Mount Pulaski defense shut her down, allowing her this one
long bucket. McCarty has a great shot. Her high arch, nothing but
net, put Edwards County up 25-22 at the half.
Third quarter
Bishop started this quarter with a bucket too. She was relentless.
The 27-22 lead did not seem to rattle Mount Pulaski one bit. They
calmly played their game and after Brown’s three the lead was
attainable with the Lions on top 27-25. Bishop would score again at
the 6:45 mark and then with Alice Robb making a three for Edwards
County twenty seconds later the score was a bit unnerving for Mount
Pulaski fans. Edwards County had stretched the lead to 32-25. Mount
Pulaski finally caught a break when Murphy was fouled shooting a
three. The senior really came through at the line by sinking all
three free throws. After Nussmeyer went coast-to-coast for a layup,
the Lions seemed to have the upper hand.
But Murphy and Brown had something else to say about that. First it
was Brown with an awesome three at the 4:57 mark. It was an
incredibly tough shot that just glided through the net. Then it was
another Mount Pulaski steal that led to a drive by Murphy. That was
a fantastic drive to the basket and Murphy scored and took the foul.
She tied the game 34-34 at the free throw line and the sea of purple
people inside the purple Arcola gym was going crazy!
Give the crowd another minute and half and they would have another
reason to raise the roof. Murphy missed a corner three but Marten
was there to pull down the rebound and after one bounce she went up
strong and poured in the bucket for a 36-34 lead. There was no
turning back now. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter
but Mount Pulaski was on top for good.
Fourth quarter
Looking back the Lady Toppers really dominated the fourth quarter,
outscoring the Lions 12-4, but even that would take a while. Marten
opened the offense for Mount Pulaski with a two-point basket and
then it was Bishop scoring for Edwards County. Around the 6:40 mark
the score was 38-36 and Mount Pulaski would be called for a couple
charges while trying to extend the lead. First it was a charge on
Marten and then a charge on Murphy. Still the Lady Toppers remained
calm. After Murphy’s charge she went on to steal the ball and score
a layup. Truly adding to the definition of relentless, Murphy
stretched the lead to 40-36 at the 4:55 mark. Murphy also sank two
free throws to add to the lead. After the Lions were called for a
charge with 3:33 on the clock, Mount Pulaski took Coach McVickers’
advice when he said on the next possession, “Hey, we’re in no
hurry.” Mount Pulaski patiently passed the ball, around with Cooper
at the point conducting traffic. Murphy then found space to drive
towards the lane and she found an open Smith under the basket and
the sophomore delivered. Murphy’s bounce pass to Smith was perfect
and Smith just needed one bounce to feel comfortable and she kissed
that ball off the glass just like every coach dreams of teaching a
player. With just 2:44 left to play the crowd rose to their feet.
Mount Pulaski’s next basket by Murphy gave the Lady Toppers a
double-digit lead.
With 2:26 on the clock and a 46-36 lead the chant, “Toppers,
Toppers!” was loud throughout the gym.
Mount Pulaski was in the driver’s seat and with 1:14 left to play,
Cooper was fouled and at mid-court Murphy couldn’t help but smile as
she gave Cooper a little hug before she went to the free throw line.
Cooper sank one of her shots and by the time the minute mark was
eclipsed, the Toppers student section began to chant, “I believe
that we will win!”
Bishop scored the last points for Edwards County at the free throw
line with 58.9 seconds remaining.
Ella Martin had a chance to get in the scoring column with 40.9
seconds left and one free throw did the trick for her.
Mount Pulaski was now up 48-38.
Edwards County missed in their last possession and that was a
familiar story for them in the fourth quarter. They missed eight
attempts in that last quarter that they would like to forget.
Meanwhile, the Lady Toppers dribbled the ball out for the last
thirty seconds and when that buzzer sounded, the entire town of
Pulaski was up in arms celebrating a victory.
Mount Pulaski will make a trip to the IHSA Class 1A Girls State
Basketball Tournament for just the second time in school history.
The first time was in 2013 when the team placed second.
Special shout out to Jan Bowers and Bob Verderber, who pulled in a
bigger fan base by announcing the game on WLCN.
In the words of Jan Bowers, who teaches at MPHS:
“These girls just don’t quit! They don’t care if they are outsized
or outmuscled. They just fight, fight, fight. They could have given
up when they went down 7-8 points early in the third, but instead
they responded, turned on the jets, and wore them down. And with
five players most of the game. They are amazing!”
Bowers added, “They gained a whole new fan base tonight. They said
there were over 300 watching and listening on YouTube alone.”
Mount Pulaski 48
Murphy 22
Marten 12
Brown 8
Smith 4
Cooper 1
Martin 1
Edwards County 38
Bishop 20
Nussmeyer 9
McCarty 3
Robb 3
Ewing 3
[Teena Lowery]
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