Cariann Kunkel

After one of the most successful high school basketball careers in Hiawatha High School history, Cariann Kunkel made the move to Hamilton, Montana to wrap up her high school career and helped lead the Broncs to a 21-6 record in her senior campaign.

From there Kunkel decided to continue her basketball career at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington where she shined in her two years as a Knight which ultimately earned her the ability to sign with Montana State University-Billings where she will enroll in the fall for her final two years of eligibility.

In her first year at Wenatchee she helped lead the Knights to a 28-5 record and a Northwest Athletic Conference Championship where she scored 22 points to lead the way in the championship game.

Kunkel averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman shooting 51 percent from the 3-point line and 67 percent from the foul line while pulling down seven rebounds per game.

This past year as a sophomore she averaged 13.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Knights in 28 games shooting 51.8-percent from the field, including 25.9-percent from 3-point range.

She scored over 20 points five times in her career for the Knights including a career-high 25 points in an early season loss to Walla Walla.

Kunkel finished her career as a Knight 13th on the all-time Wenatchee Valley scoring list with 734 points in two years.

In her three years at Hiawatha, Kunkel lettered all three years in volleyball, basketball and track while reaching the state track meet all three years.

During her senior season at Hamilton High she was named the Bitterroot Valley basketball player of the year and Southwestern Class A girls’ basketball most valuable player.

Although Kunkel’s sophomore season at Wenatchee was cut short during the league tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she can now turn her attention to Montana State where she plans to major in Business with an emphasis in Marketing.