Lady Toppers defeat South Fork 62-45

[January 29, 2022] Mount Pulaski hosted the South Fork Ponies on Thursday night and the Lady Toppers added another win to their spectacular season record. 

Mount Pulaski’s record is now 22-4 after checking the Ponies off their list with a final score of 62-45. 

The Lady Toppers stormed out to a 9-4 early lead in the first quarter. Alexis Wade tossed in six points in the first quarter, including a jumper from the free throw line to give Mount Pulaski an 11-8 advantage with 1:08 left. A three by the Ponies’ Lilliann Wake knotted the score at 11-11. A steal and layup by Hailee Daigh gave the Lady Toppers the lead again with 25.9 seconds left to play. The Ponies were quick to tie the game and this set up an exciting moment for Grace Davis. Davis was able to hit a three at the buzzer to give the Lady Toppers a 16-13 lead.

The Lady Toppers pulled ahead 20-13 in just over a minute into the second quarter. A three by Hailee Daigh set the score at 23-17 with 2:10 showing on the clock. With Wade sinking a three, Mount Pulaski’s lead was 26-17 with 1:45 left to play in the second quarter. Wade’s two free throws would conclude the Lady Toppers scoring in the quarter but the Ponies were still in the game with the score 28-22 at the half.

A couple minutes into the third quarter, Mount Pulaski looked over their shoulder and the Ponies were in the chase with the score 28-27. A tough shot in the lane by Daigh fell through the hoop and Mount Pulaski was up 30-27. Wake tied the game with her three for the Ponies but seconds later it was Daigh hitting a three to give the Lady Toppers a 33-30 lead. This was just the beginning of a 14-0 run for the Lady Toppers. With Wade pulling up for a little stop ’n pop, it was Mount Pulaski in the lead 35-30.  Xzandria Turner would hit a three under the 4:00 mark and stretch the lead to 38-30. A brief twenty seconds later, it was Wade from the top with another three for Mount Pulaski. Xzandria Turner completed the run with her second three in just over sixty-seconds and just like that the Lady Toppers lead was 44-30. The Ponies cut the lead to 44-38, but before the quarter ended Mount Pulaski had one last opportunity to score. Bringing the ball up the court was Wade and she found Daigh open for a three. Daigh’s release was timed perfectly and it was another buzzer-beater for Mount Pulaski. Daigh’s shot gave Mount Pulaski a 47-38 lead heading into the final quarter.

Daigh would pick up right where she left off in the fourth quarter, only this time her three was from the corner and gave MP the 50-38 lead. Following a miss by Wade, Xzandria Turner would come flying through the lane and pick up the offensive rebound and put it up and in for two points. Baskets by Wade and Daigh allowed the Lady Toppers to keep ahead of the Ponies as well. With Mount Pulaski’s defense forcing a handful of turnovers, the Lady Toppers took advantage and even forged ahead 57-42. After Davis sank two free throws late in the game, Mount Pulaski had a 20-point lead versus a team that had recently been blowing out their opponents by 20 plus points. One final three by the Ponies would set the final score at 62-45. 

Alexis Wade led Mount Pulaski with 25 points and 7 assists. Hailee Daigh poured in 19 points for Mount Pulaski. 

Both teams love to shoot from long range and it was fun to watch Thursday night. Mount Pulaski made nine threes in the game while South Fork made seven threes.  

Mount Pulaski Head Coach Ryan McVickers was undoubtedly pleased with the outcome of the game and as always he was proud of his team’s effort.

“They (South Fork) came out and they really tried to control the tempo,” said McVickers. They really tried to slow us down in the first half. We were only up six at half and we told the girls that we needed to just keep attacking, make better decisions, try to get to the lane, make that one more pass and just kinda try to speed them up. They (South Fork) did a great job of controlling the tempo and controlling the flow of the game. In the second half we played the game the way we wanted to and outscored them by 14 points. That was really the difference. But I’ll tell you who came in and played great. Xzandria Turner. She came in off the bench, she bought into a role this year, and she came in and knocked down two threes and she played great, great defense. She boxes out so well. I mean she had a heckuva game. She kinda gave us that light that we needed. She did everything for us in the second half. When we talk about team wins, tonight was just a team win against a team that was just gritty.”

These Lady Toppers are sure on a roll. It’s fun basketball to watch. Their defense has been spectacular. Their passing has been incredible. They are playing unselfishly and racking up wins as a team. 

The JV team also earned another win on Thursday night. Led by Mackenzie Chandler with 18 points, the Mount Pulaski JV team defeated South Fork 42-26. Summer Eskew also tossed in 10 points for the Lady Toppers. 

Varsity scoring

Wade 25

Daigh 19

X. Turner 8

Davis 5

Rentmeister 3

May 2

South Fork 45

G. Pop 16

Wake 14

Bumey 7

Dmjevic 5

M. Pop 2

Neal 1

JV scoring 

Mount Pulaski 42

Chandler 18

Eskew 10

Charron 6

Bobell 3

Jones 3

Stone 2

South Fork 26

Shoulders 9

Wake 6

Watson 4

Carriker 4

Neal 2

Dmjevic 1

[Teena Lowery]