Bigfork's Gunlock commits to BYU
Braeden Gunlock glides in for two of her 16 points against Whitefish Friday. (Jeremy Weber/Bigfork Eagle)
After a banner junior season in which she helped Bigfork finish second at the State A tournament, the Valkyries’ Braeden Gunlock announced Tuesday she has committed to play women’s basketball at Brigham Young University.
The 6-foot Gunlock, who will be a senior this fall, made the announcement via Instagram. She has been the lead player for a team that finished third in Class B in 2022, then won the 2023 State B championship, and in March marched into the championship game in its first season up in Class A.
She had offers from Montana, Boise State and Eastern Washington, and visited UM and Boise as well as BYU. She made her official visit to the Provo, Utah, campus last weekend.
“I really liked the people when I went down there. It was very team oriented,” said the junior, who is interested in studying Nursing. “The culture was amazing, their campus was amazing. The (Wasatch) mountains reminded me a lot of Montana. And I wouldn’t be too far from home.”
During this past regular season Gunlock averaged 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds for the 22-2 Vals. She added 85 steals, 59 assists, a team-high 11 blocks and hit 39 percent of her 3-point attempts (26 of 66).
The season before she helped the Valkyries to a 25-0 record and their first-ever girls basketball state championship. For her high school career Gunlock has scored 1,367 points in 77 games, a 17.8 average. She’s averaged 8.2 rebounds.
The BYU Cougars play in the Big 12 Conference. They went 16-17 last season, and 6-12 in Big 12 games — including a win over then-No. 18 Baylor.