Jim Thorpe's Kayley Kovac earned an impressive accolade last season when she made the Pennsylvania Class AAA Girls' All-State Third Team as a freshman.

This season, she took another leap forward as she earned AAA First Team honors thanks to her phenomenal sophomore campaign."I never even expected to be named all-state as a freshman," explained Kovac. "I always dreamed of being first team all-state, and for that to come as a sophomore is an amazing accolade. All of my hard work is paying off, and it's great to see."Not only did the sophomore lead The Times News area in points per game by a considerable margin, but she was also the leading scorer among the Class AAA First Team."Her game became much smoother this season," said Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac. "She shot the pull-up more. Her game has evolved and she's really developed a nice 16-17 foot jump shot. It's a great compliment to her game. Every kid on that all-state list is such a good worker. I look at that list and see some of those kids that are on it. For her to be included is pretty impressive. I get caught between that fine line between coach and parent sometimes. As a parent, I couldn't be prouder. As a coach, I understand how truly blessed we are to have her."While her offensive numbers are eye-popping, Rob believes the sophomore's biggest improvement has been on the other side of the ball."Her biggest improvement of her game I think was on the defensive end," he said. "You don't become all-state without a tremendous work ethic. In September or October, that was probably the most athletic I've ever seen her. She suffered an injury in the beginning of cross country, which really hampered her. For the first time in her career she didn't have the luxury of jumping over people at the beginning of the season. She lacked a little explosiveness that made her so special. I think it forced her to be a more complete basketball player."Kovac gave many kudos to her teammates who've helped her along the way."Every day at practice, all of the girls make me the player I am," she said. "I have to give a lot of props to Jackie Condly, she guards me in practice. I wouldn't be the player I am without her."Joining Kovac on the Class AAA First Team are Bailey Greenberg (Player of the Year, Archbishop Wood), Sarah Agnello (Erie Villa Maria), Jenay Faulkner (Greencastle-Antrim), Devon Merritt (Berks Catholic) and Anna Sweny (Erie Villa Maria)."Yesterday, she said to me that she would trade in an all-state selection to get a few wins next March in a heartbeat," said Rob. "It's amazing that we have her for two more years. When you can pencil 25 points a night as a starter, it makes things a little easier on the offensive end. The future is bright, and I'm excited to see how we evolve as a team."