Clayton State women’s basketball inks Florida JUCO standout

Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox and his staff took the first steps towards preparing for 2010-11 with the early signing of Florida JUCO standout Keona Dixon from Indian River State College.

A 5-foot-7 shooting guard from Clearwater, Fla., Dixon is the first player ever that Cox has signed during the early NCAA signing period while at Clayton State. She will give the Lakers a legitimate perimeter threat next season.

“We are thrilled to have her locked up for next year,” said Cox, 125-37 entering his sixth season at the Laker helm. “Keona is a big-time scorer that will step in and fill the void that Lesheria Stevens’ graduation will leave. She can score the basketball in a lot of different ways, but is especially dangerous from behind the 3 point line.”

Dixon enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2008-09 at Indian River State under head coach Dave Caputu. She helped pace Indian River State to the FCCAA Southern Conference Championship, averaging 16 points, three assists and three steals a game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. That earned Dixon both FCCAA All-Southern Conference and NJCAA All-Region honors.

During her prep career at Clearwater High School, Dixon was a Class 5A All-State selection her senior season, helping pace Clearwater to the Class 5A state finals. She was ranked 55th out of the Top 100 seniors in Florida that year.