Mount Pulaski delights the little
fans with 67-14 win over Decatur Unity Christian
[February 07, 2026]
The Mount Pulaski Lady Toppers are on a roll. There seems to
be no stopping these girls. On Friday night in front of the home
crowd inside the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium, these girls put on a show.
The final score was a fun one for the little fans, who couldn’t help
themselves from going crazy as the scoreboard flashed 67-14 at the
buzzer. In fact, it was Addison Brown’s three with 3:33 left in the
game that gave Mount Pulaski the “what does it even mean” 6-7 score.
So the little fans started celebrating early and incidentally, it’s
the second time the Mount Pulaski girls have reached that final
number this season.
Talking about a numbers game, senior Alyson Murphy poured in 25
points in the first half, finishing with 33 points in the game and
she is drawing closer to a pretty significant milestone in her
career: 2,000 career points.
Murphy was on fire Friday night. She was 10-for-14 from the field in
the first half. She finished her amazing night 13-for-20 from the
field. She made seven 3s. A rarity, but she did not get to the free
throw line in this game.
First quarter
Within a minute and five seconds into the game, Mount Pulaski had
already drained three 3s. It was Murphy, Brown and then Murphy again
from beyond the arc. Murphy sank the next two baskets for Mount
Pulaski also, driving the lead to 13-0. It was obvious early on that
Murphy had the soft touch and she was not even going to hit the rim
tonight. Her shots early on were nothing but net. The Lions hit a
basket at the 5:30 mark and believe it or not, that would be their
only points in the half. Murphy fired up 3s at the 5:16 mark and the
4:03 mark and it was a 19-2 ballgame. What followed the rest of the
quarter was just Mount Pulaski’s speed and great defense
outperforming the Lions and the rest of the Toppers starters poured
in points, too. Elayna Marten hit a three and tossed in a two-point
basket. Audrey Cooper had a steal and a layup. Brown hit another
field goal and with less than a minute to go Ella Martin poured in
two points. “Great ball movement,” said Coach Ryan McVickers from
the sidelines. His Lady Toppers were playing top-tier basketball and
the result was a 30-2 first quarter lead.
Second quarter
Murphy poured in nine points in the second quarter and she was
definitely hot from all over the court. It didn’t matter what she
did, the ball was going through the hoop. She had a steal and a
layup or maybe two, another three-pointer and even a nice little
baseline jumper. Cooper also tossed in a bucket, Olivia Smith hit a
free throw and a couple points in the paint and Brown finished the
second quarter with a three. When the Lions had a chance to catch
their breath, they glanced at the scoreboard to see that they were
on the losing end of a 47-2 ballgame. But give credit to the Lions
for being good-natured about it. They knew they were out of their
league with this team and they didn’t seem to be too upset. They did
have bragging rights from an earlier meeting during volleyball
season.
Insert fun fact here: Donna Dulle is the new coach for Unity
Christian volleyball and this game was being played on Donna Dulle
Court. Congratulations, Coach Dulle!
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Mount Pulaski Coach Ryan McVickers is in his fifth year as the head
coach of the Lady Toppers. Photo by Teena Lowery.
Third quarter
Let’s give this one to the Lions. They scored nine points in the
third quarter. Chloe Pirtle even hit a three for them at the 3:50
mark. But Murphy hit two more 3s in the third quarter for Mount
Pulaski and at the end of these quick eight minutes the Lady Toppers
were enjoying a 63-11 lead.
Fourth quarter
Of course, there was a running clock in the fourth quarter and it is
worth noting that Mount Pulaski subbed their bench in and out all
night long. Coach McVickers had emphasized earlier in the game for
his players to not go crazy on the other team, but on the other
hand, a team needs to work on their offensive plays and defense and
just prepare in general for what’s ahead on the schedule. So players
just can’t quit playing because they’re so far ahead on the
scoreboard. With that being said, Murphy and Brown hit the only two
buckets in the fourth quarter and Mount Pulaski finished off the
Lions with a 67-14 score.
McVickers said it best from the sidelines, “Great ball movement.”
These girls showed the Friday night crowd their quickness on the
court and in their passing game and it was impressive. It was a
great display of shooting by the team as well.
Mount Pulaski keeps the momentum going and improves to 24-0 on the
season.
You can catch the girls at home again today at 1:00 p.m. versus
Central A&M. Varsity only game.
Mount Pulaski 67
Murphy 33
Brown 10
Marten 9
Cooper 6
Smith 4
Martin 4
Tyson 1
Decatur Unity 14
St. James 5
Bunch 4
Pirtle 3
Smith 2
[Teena Lowery]
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