MISSOULA — Since the minute she suited up at Missoula Big Sky four years ago, Kadynce Couture has been a staple and standout on the Montana high school basketball scene for the Eagles.
Though it's hard to believe that chapter has closed, Couture and her teammates ended on a high note with Big Sky's third-place finish at the Class AA state tournament in Bozeman just a few weeks ago, marking the program's first hardware since 2009.
"There was a lot of persevering this season, but also my class persevered very well through our whole four years," Couture said. "We started, came into a program that was almost non-existent and there was just a few people that were trying to keep it going. And so when we came in and kind of brought it to where it is today, it meant a lot."
Their recent run of success brought back to life Big Sky's program, which struggled for a number of years before they began to break through with a state appearance in 2023, their first since 2016.
From there, with Couture and her teammates leading the way, the Eagles became a force in the Western AA, highlighted by the final run of this senior class.
"It was really tough, kind of like a sad situation (ending it) because my class is so close and I will be able to continue playing, but not all of them are going to. And so that was something that we kind of have thought about a little bit and has made us a little bit sad," Couture said. "But that's what brought me so many friendships. So I'm just really grateful for the time I had with them.
"Especially because we had like little note cards that we wrote to each other before the games. The underclassmen or even like the class right below me, just they would always say like you're a huge role model. We look up to your class and stuff and just hearing that coming from them, it was insane. I've always had pressure put on myself, but them saying that and then also being, 'I've got your back like you're my biggest role model, but I've got your back.' It meant a lot."
A starter from the very beginning at Big Sky, Couture's game has grown every year as a multi-time all-state performer.
There are pressures that have come with it, from the spotlight, to a rigorous college recruiting process that began earlier than most.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself, from the beginning of my recruiting process that I wanted to know my junior year, I wanted to know," Couture said. "It's not healthy to put time on things like that because when you know, you know. So once I voiced how I was actually feeling, and then I told myself I've got this, that's what made the most of the difference."
After receiving offers from several D1 schools — including multiple in the Mountain West and Big Sky — she will join the reigning Big Sky champion Montana State Bobcats, flipping her commitment from the original announcement of Idaho.
This move comes full circle, as MSU offered Couture before she even played a minute of high school basketball way back in the fall of her freshman year.
"It was a little nerve-wracking at first because I didn't know if they were going to take me back or if they were going to have their offer still stand," Couture said. "But once they did, I never looked back. I don't think I've ever second-guessed it since then, and that's something that has really helped me honestly have a better senior year this year knowing that I'm going to a place where I'm really comfortable.
"Coach (Tricia Binford) is like, honestly, what makes all the difference in the world when you're able to have a head coach that is so involved. That's the first thing that my mom said when we went to campus, like she was like, 'I didn't expect the head coach to come over and be with us the whole time.' And that's how Bin is on your recruitment visits. That's how she is once you get there, she's really in it. And so I guess she's the one that made the difference for me."
She'll head to Bozeman in June to get things started in her new home, as her own decorated career and perseverance has her set to make a lifelong goal a reality.
"I thought back to like that moment that I decided I want to play D-I basketball," Couture said. "I was watching March Madness and I watched the Mississippi State game against UConn (in the 2017 Final Four) and Mississippi State wins on a buzzer-beater. And in that moment, I was so excited. I was like, I want to do what they're doing. I want to be a part of something like that. And so just thinking back to the little kid that I was, knowing that I would be so proud of myself was really special to me."
"Getting to play with people that have such like a like-minded mentality. I'm going into a winning program, but all of those girls want each other to succeed and that's something that you don't get everywhere and they seem like a very close team from what I could see in my class. I really love my class, so I'm I'm just very excited to get there and get started."
