CHICAGO — Havre High senior Kyndall Keller has been named the Gatorade Montana girls basketball player of the year, the company announced Friday.
Keller, a 5-foot-8 guard, has helped the Blue Ponies to a 20-2 record this season, with both losses coming against Billings Central -- the first in the opening game of the season and the second at last week's Eastern A divisional tournament. Havre rallied back through the consolation bracket and will be the No. 3 seed at next week's Class A state tournament. Billings Central will be the East's top seed for the tournament, which begins March 12 in Billings.
Keller, who is averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.1 assists per game so far this season, is a three-time first-team all-state selection and was twice named the Class A state tournament MVP. Havre has won the past two State A championships. Keller enters the state tournament having scored 1,476 career points.
“Kyndall is a competitor and she plays extremely aggressively and disciplined,” said Lewistown head coach Nycole LaRowe. “Along with her natural athleticism, I think those things make her a huge threat on both ends of the court.”
The Gatorade award also recognizes academic achievement and high character off the court. In that regard, Keller is the vice president of the Havre senior class and maintains a 3.67 grade-point average. She has also volunteered as a special education tutor and donated her time as a youth basketball coach and official, according to the Gatorade media release.
Keller has signed to continue her playing career at the University of Montana, where she will team up with former Helena High standout Jamie Pickens, the winner of the Gatorade award in 2018 and 2019.
Keller is the second Havre product to win the award, joining Loree Payne, who was the 1998-99 Gatorade winner. Payne went on to have a decorated playing career at the University of Washington and is now the head women's basketball coach at Northern Arizona.
