Havre High's Kyndall Keller voted HDN Female Athlete of the Year

Every high school basketball player has dreams. And usually, two of those dreams are - winning a state championship and playing college basketball.

In 2019, Havre High's Kyndall Keller achieved both of those dreams.

First, Keller capped off her junior season by helping her Blue Ponies edge Hardin in the 2019 Class A state championship game back in March inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

The victory over Hardin was a thrilling one because it gave Havre, under head coach Dustin Kraske, back-to-back Class A state championships - and that's a feat that isn't accomplished often and, sometimes, ever.

Of course, Keller was a big part of the feat, too.

In her third season as a Pony, she led Class A in scoring, averaging near 20 points per night. She was also among the Class A leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals. The numbers she put up earned her Central A First-Team and Class A All-State honors for the third consecutive season. Keller was also named the Class A State Tournament MVP for the second year in a row.

But, what turned out to be a big 2019 was nowhere near over for Keller when the Ponies cut down the nets in Great Falls.

No, a mere four months later, Keller announced that she was verbally committing to the University of Montana Lady Griz. Then, in November, it became official, as she signed her NCAA letter of intent on the college basketball early signing day. That day would be a special one for Keller, because she signed on with the Lady Griz - becoming the first Havre Blue Pony basketball player to accept a Division I scholarship, since Loree Payne - in front of her family, friends, teammates and coaches in the gym where she's already made so many lasting memories - the HHS gymnasium.

And it's for those reasons, the special times she had in 2019, that Keller was named the Havre Daily News Female Athlete of the Year.

"It's truly an honor to be selected for an award like Athlete of the Year," Keller said. "I'm so grateful and blessed to have so much support from our community, from my parents, my awesome teammates and coaches, and everybody at Havre High. That support means the world to me."

And Keller means a lot to Havre High, too. And, with January not over yet, she and her Blue Ponies aren't done yet. There's no reason why 2020 won't be just as big as 2019 was for Kyndall Keller.

Editor's Note: The 2019 Havre Daily News Athlete of the Year was selected by online voting, which took place in December. The 2019 Havre Daily News Male Athlete of the Year will be announced in next Friday's HDN sports section.