Dickson knocks off McLoud girls for district crown

McLOUD – The Dickson Lady Comets overwhelmed the McLoud Lady Redskins on the boards, 50-18, and cruised to a 44-32 decision for a Class 4A district title on Monday.

Chesleigh Apala registered a double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds and Makayla Smith chipped in 11 points and nine boards as Dickson shot 39.1% from the field.

McLoud, 6-9 on the season, was ice cold, converting just 11 field goals on the night and hitting at only a 25.6% pace.

The Lady Redskins were only 6 of 12 from the foul line while the Lady Comets were 8 of 13.

Three McLoud players reached double figures, led by Cheyenne Banks with 11. Desira Jones and Lexie Boyer tacked on 10 apiece. A Dani Banks free throw was the Lady Redskins' only other point.

Cheyenne Banks was 5 of 6 from the floor while pulling down eight rebounds and getting a steal. Boyer had three steals and a pair of blocked shots and Jones ended up with two steals.

Dickson led 16-9 after one quarter and 22-17 at halftime.

McLoud was down by a 24-17 count early in the third when Boyer, who had just one point at halftime, scored eight consecutive points off a 3-pointer, two charity tosses and another trey to give the Lady Redskins a temporary lead of 25-24.

However, the Lady Comets closed the third period with an 8-0 spurt, with six of those points coming from Apala.

A Jones basket to start the fourth quarter pulled McLoud within 32-27, but Dickson countered with five straight points. The Lady Redskins had only two field goals in the final period as they were limited to seven fourth-quarter points.

McLoud will play in the consolation bracket of regional play on Thursday at 1 p.m.