Jim Thorpe's Kayley Kovac was in third grade when her father and coach Rob Kovac realized that she had a natural ability to score the basketball.

At that level, scoring doesn't come easy with players just learning the rules and fundamentals of the game."I remember I had a Saturday morning practice and I quick ran over to the L.B. Morris gym to see her play," said Coach Kovac. "I caught the tail end of the game before her game and I think the final was 6-4, which isn't uncommon at that level. In the next game Kayley had 28 points at half time and that's when I first saw her ability to score."Not much has changed for Kovac since her younger years as the Thorpe sophomore eclipsed the 1,000-point mark last week against Blue Mountain, becoming the first sophomore in Jim Thorpe history to do so."Ever since I stepped foot in our gym and saw those names on the 1,000-point banner I wanted to become a part of that list," said Kayley. "There's so many great players on that list and I'm just honored to be a part of it."In her freshman season, Kayley led the Schuylkill League in scoring with 24.59 points per game and garnered AAA third team All State recognition.Kayley certainly set the bar high a season ago, but never wavered as she once again avergaing 24.5 points per game. The Olympians as a whole have also improved as they're heading to the postseason for the first time since 2012."Kayley certainly isn't a finished product yet and neither are her teammates. Everyone has improved this season," said Kovac. "Kayley is the engine that drives us, but as a team we've gotten so much better from a season ago and that's why we've taken that next step to the postseason."Kayley is hoping to still be a premier scorer, but mentioned that in the future if her point totals go down because of the continued improvement of her teammates, that's fine with her."I think my scoring will possibly go down a little over the next two years because I think my teammates are going to continue to get better," said Kayley. "I'm totally fine with that because I think we'll be a better team because of it. You can see the improvements from all our girls this season and our goal is always to win."A huge reason for Kayley's scoring dominance over the last two seasons is the offseason, where she works harder than most. Kayley believes that a big reason for her continued scoring success is her improved strength from a season ago."I knew I had to get stronger, and I focused on getting in the weight room," said Kayley. "When you get doubled a lot, you have to be strong in order to break that and dribble through it. It has also helped me on the offensive glass as well. It will definitely be a continued focus for me this offseason."Kayley isn't just a scorer either. She does everything from rebounding, to getting steals, and scrapping on the floor for loose balls. She's a blue collar type of player that puts the ball in the basket any way she can.She has also now put herself in a nice position to be the school's all -time leading scorer. To do that, she would need surpass 2012 graduate Celeste Robinson, who scored 1,691 points."I try to lead by example and if my teammates see me working hard every possession and diving all over the place, then most likely they will do same," said Kayley. "That's the type of team we want to be."