The Jim Thorpe girls' basketball team was one point away from making the district playoffs due to an overtime loss to Blue Mountain last season.

This season, according to head coach Rob Kovac, his Lady Olympians are "on the verge" of becoming a very special team.Led by sophomore Kayley Kovac, who scorched the net for nearly 25 points a game as a freshman, Jim Thorpe expects to light up the scoreboard in many of this season's contests."With more support for Kayley we can spread the floor and be very hard to defend," said Kovac who begins his ninth season at Thorpe.The coach's talented daughter has hit the weight room and added 10 pounds of muscle, which he believes will improve her jump shooting, especially from three-point range. Her strength will help her inside game as well. Last year, Kayley shot 287 free throws in 22 games, which is more than entire team may shoot for a year."Kayley's evolution as a player is becoming evident too because she now understands how to make her teammates better. When the defense collapses on her, somebody else who also can score will be open."One of those who can put points on the board will be Kayley's sister, Payton, who looks to improve last season's numbers in the Olympians' transition offense."Payton averaged double figures for our summer team," says Kovac. "She's made a commitment to improve her game. When she gets in a zone, she can be lights out at the net."To complement his daughters, Kovac is excited to have Alexys Naranjo return from an injury that put her on the shelf half way though last season,"We were 7-3 when Alexys got hurt, and went 3-9 the rest of the way and some of that decline had to do with losing Alexys from our line up," said Kovac.He is also impressed with the athleticism of Jordan Waselus and freshman Natalia Richards, both of whom can get hot with outside shooting.Due to a lack of size, Kovac does not envision his players as a team that can pound the ball into the paint, but Kathy Ohl, Devon Lignore, and senior Rebecca Cressman, who has been a three-year spot starter, should help down low."We're not real physical and we don't have a pure shot blocker," says Kovac. "We need to rebound and get down the floor and we can run at least nine players out there on any given night so our team depth is strong."Kovac's concern for his Olympians, who will have just one senior on the roster, is on the defensive side of the ball."We will play predominately zone and pressure the ball, but our defense is a work in progress. Offense comes easier with talent, but playing good defense is a chore. I tell the girls every day that defensive effort comes from the decision to put it all out there and get a stop or a turnover."Kovac said his young team may be a year away from contending for a league title against the likes of Pottsville, Minersville and North Schuylkill, but the goal of making the playoffs is definitely attainable."We are fortunate because our program is strong from the fifth grade up," he said. "We think we can compete against anyone, make the playoffs and beat somebody this year that we are not expected to beat."