JOHN KOVACH | Colleges Thayer over 1,000, eyes mark

NEW WILMINGTON -- How did Robin Thayer score more than 1,000 points in her collegiate basketball career so far?
By playing and scoring consistently in a lot of games, said the 6-foot-1 senior guard on the Westminster College women's team from South Range High.
Thayer recently became the fifth player in school history to exceed 1,000 career points, and she has a good chance of breaking the school record.
"I think the huge thing is my freshman year I was lucky enough to start and play the entire season. It would be pretty hard to break the record without playing four years," said Thayer, who surpassed 1,000 points in a 78-55 loss at Slippery Rock University on Dec. 5.
Her first basket in that game gave her the milestone, and she finished with 10 points.
Started every game: "I also was lucky enough not to be injured," said Thayer, who has started in every game for Westminster, a span of 86 games.
Thayer also has been able to put the ball in the hoop while being guarded closely, thanks to some creative moves on her part and passes from her teammates.
"I have to create my own traps because someone is always in your face, but I am getting feeds from my teammates. I get double- and triple-teamed sometimes, so I have to create offensive moves to score," said Thayer, who leads the team in scoring with a 12.6-point average through nine games.
But although she is tall, she doesn't score much on rebounds.
"Most of my points come from shooting off the move and driving to the hoop," she said.
Thayer has 1,046 career points entering the Christmas break, passing No. 4 Karey Kustron (1,034) in Westminster's 92-43 win over Medaille College last Monday.
Next for Thayer is No. 3 Deanna Kaczewski (1,148 points from 1993-97), which she will begin pursuing when the Titans resume play Jan. 4 in the Palm Beach Atlantic Invitational.
Thayer needs 140 more points in the remaining 16 games to displace all-time leader Colleen Dion (1,185 from 1992-96), an average of about nine points per game.
Eyes record: She is optimistic about her chances.
"I think they are pretty good since I'm averaging more than nine points a game, and if I don't get injured or anything," said Thayer.
She also managed to break 1,000 in the face of some tough early-season opposition, while the team has struggled to a 4-5 record.
"We played some really good teams. Even though our record is not the greatest, I think we are doing pretty good," she said.
Thayer was Westminster's leading scorer each of the last three seasons, scoring 269, 259 and 405 points, respectively, for per-game averages of 10.3, 10.0 and 16.2.
She also is averaging 4.6 rebounds with 16 assists this season.
Thayer has a 3.6 grade-point average as a major in financial economics, and is planning to graduate in May.
"I'm getting married this summer so I am going to stay in the Boardman area. I don't have any jobs lined up now, but hopefully I will have one lined up by then," said Thayer, whose fianc & eacute; is Nick Roberts, a former Westminster and Boardman High football player.
The daughter of Sally and Bob Thayer, Robin played basketball at South Range for coach Don Feren, where she also scored more than 1,000 career points.
Other players: Other area players with Westminster are Teale Ganster, a 6-0 junior forward from LaBrae High; Michele Chovan, 5-9 sophomore forward from Hubbard High, and Kristen Karatinos, 5-5 junior guard from New Castle High.
Ganster has started all nine games and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.7 rebounds, while Chovan and Karatinos are substitutes averaging 4.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and 3.3 and 1.2, respectively.