Caitlyn Kroll came up big for St. Francis University on Monday night. Kroll’s career-high 30 points led the Red Flash to a 101-71 victory over LIU Brooklyn, a win that moved St. Francis to 4-0 in the Northeast Conference.

But the redshirt freshman’s performance held even more significance outside Degol Arena – and for a player that’s not yet played a minute for the Red Flash.

The player watching Kroll shine for St. Francis was Jim Thorpe senior standout and Red Flash commit Kayley Kovac.

Kroll missed her freshman season at St. Francis due to a knee injury suffered during her senior year at Bridgeport High School in Ohio.

It’s the same fate that has befallen Kovac, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Lady Olympians’ 56-49 win over Lake Lehman on Saturday.

Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac said Monday that an MRI confirmed Kayley Kovac suffered a torn ACL - and at least a sprained MCL - in the game, one she scored 29 points in before suffering the injury in the fourth quarter.

“It wasn’t a freak play,” Rob Kovac said of his daughter’s injury. “It was a shot that came up, Kayley ran back, a kid attempted a shot, and Kayley jumped up to get the rebound, and came down. She got hit in the air a little bit that caused her to move her balance … but when she lands it was just kind of like her body went one way, and the leg doesn’t.”

Kovac entered Saturday’s game leading the Times News area with 26.11 points per game (through Dec. 31).

One of the most accomplished players in school history, Kovac, who is also No. 1 in her class, became Jim Thorpe’s all-time leading scorer earlier this season, breaking Celeste Robinson’s mark of 1,691 points. Kovac currently has 1,882 career points.

Kovac has been the Times News Girls Basketball Player of the Year the last two seasons, and was First Team All-State selection the past two years after earning a third team selection as a freshman.

Her desire to win and passion for the game has fueled her throughout her career. It’s also drawn praise and helped her earn the respect of her closest competitors.

“The funny thing is, over the years, the biggest rivalry in the area has been us and Lehighton. And one of the first texts Kayley got was from (Lehighton’s) Sky Faust,” Rob Kovac said. “They played AAU together. When they’re on the court against each other, there’s not a lot of love in those situations. But off the court, they’re pretty tight.”

The support has helped Kayley, who had previously only missed one game in her high school career due to illness, deal with the initial shock of the injury.

With surgery two-to-three weeks away and a great deal of rehabilitation on the horizon, the road back to the court will be long.

But Monday, Kovac, whose scholarship at St. Francis remains in place, got a chance to watch Kroll show her that this injury is just a bump in the road.

Her destination is still the same.

“It kind of couldn’t have happened on a better night for Kayley to see that,” Rob Kovac said of Kroll’s performance. “She dropped 30 tonight, and showed you can come back from this.

“The thing everybody keeps talking to Kayley about is that it’s all about how hard you work and the rehab process. If it has to do with working hard, we’ll be fine.”