Lady Toppers take down Tri-County
65-36
[February 25, 2026]
The Mount Pulaski Lady Toppers defeated the Tri-County Titans
65-36 on Tuesday night in the IHSA Class 1A Sectional semifinals
hosted by Argenta-Oreana High School.
Alyson Murphy is on a mission and she led Mount Pulaski with 28
points in the win.
Addison Brown and Audrey Cooper each had 10 points.
First quarter
Mount Pulaski ran out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, with Murphy
tossing in eight of those points. In the blink of an eye it was a
17-2 lead for Mount Pulaski and Murphy already had 13 points. Mount
Pulaski would end the quarter with a 19-9 lead. Olivia Smith scored
six points in the first quarter.
Second quarter
Murphy started the second quarter in similar fashion, dropping in
the first six points. Free throws, a stop ’n’ pop and a jumper by
Murphy drove the lead to 25-12. Audrey Cooper’s four points made it
29-12 and it was obvious the Mount Pulaski press was just destroying
the Titans. After Murphy sank a three at the 3:19 mark it was a
20-point lead for the Lady Toppers. Cooper’s big quarter continued
as she scored six more points, bringing her total to ten. Each
bucket in the paint was earned along with a new bruise or two and
she also sank a couple free throws before the half. Mount Pulaski
built a 39-17 lead over the Titans at the half.
Third quarter
Addison Brown scored just a single free throw in the first half but
she would get hot to start the third and hit two 3s. Elayna Marten
and Olivia Smith spent some time at the free throw line and with
Murphy adding a layup, Mount Pulaski was up a comfortable 53-21 with
3:47 remaining in the quarter. Probably the biggest applause in the
third quarter was thanks to a great one-handed pass across the lane
by Audrey Cooper to Ella Martin for the bucket. The crowd was
definitely loving the effort put forth by the girls and the 56-29
lead was a nice reward for their hard work.
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Fourth quarter
After Marten’s two free throws and a drive through the lane by
Murphy, the Lady Toppers were up 60-29 with 5:25 left in the game
and it was time for that clock to run. Before the starters exited,
Brown would hit another three and Martin tossed in a two to bring
Mount Pulaski to their final score. The subs finished out the game
and the bench celebrated a 65-36 win soon after.
This game started at 6:00 p.m. and was over at 7:10 p.m. Nice fast
work once again by the Lady Toppers.
Mount Pulaski improves to 30-1 and will play Cumberland on Thursday
night at 6:00 p.m. for the IHSA Class 1A Sectional Championship.
It’s a pretty smooth drive to Argenta and the girls really
appreciate all the support they have been receiving this season.
Mount Pulaski 65
Murphy 28
Brown 10
Cooper 10
Smith 9
Marten 4
Martin 4
Tri-County 36
Ehlers 11
Phillips 9
Williams 7
Duzan 3
Buckler 2
Gough 2
Knoll 2
[Teena Lowery]
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