Doing It All
November 23, 2022 | Women's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Anastasia Hayes continues to evolve and get even better for the Bulldogs.
STARKVILLE – Anastasia Hayes has already been special for Mississippi State.
Last season – her first in Maroon and White – Hayes was an All-Southeastern Conference performer. She earned an All-America honorable mention. She entered this year as the SEC's top returning scorer and one of the league's superstars.
All that's well and good, but guess what? She's committed to being even better.
After a career playing mostly the two and the three, this year, Hayes has shifted to point guard to best fit first-year head coach Sam Purcell's initial group of Bulldogs. She's responding by evolving into an all-around threat that's both helping State on its quest to compete for championships, as well as helping herself become a coveted player as she eyes professional hoops after this season.
"It's my last year," Hayes said. "I want to go out with a bang. I want to play really hard and do whatever I can to get the win for my team and do what all I can to get my teammates involved. I'm in a different position, but I'm all for it. I'm all for the team. I'm all for the win. That's all I'm trying to do."
As could be expected, Hayes has had to take on a few additional responsibilities playing the point for the Dawgs. Such is the case when you go from being the team's primary scoring threat to a player expected to create opportunities for not only oneself, but also the rest of the squad.
Hayes says she's become more of a communicator in her new spot, and it shows. She'll enter Friday's game against Georgetown at the Puerto Rico Classic averaging 5.6 assists per game. That's currently second-best in the entire SEC and close to double last year's average of 3.1 per contest.
"I'm having a really fun time, being able to win and seeing my teammates happy and seeing them score," Hayes said. "It's great to be able to pass them the ball. When I assist the ball, it makes me even more happy to know I was able to distribute the ball and be able to help that way. It makes my heart happy to make a good pass and a teammate be able to make the layup or make the shot."
Of course, Hayes is still a tremendous threat to put the ball in the basket herself. She's averaged just under 15 points a game over her last three outings and is coming off a season-high 18-point showing in a big win over Colorado State last Sunday.
"She had an unbelievable night," Purcell said of Hayes following Sunday's game. "A lot of fans might wonder, 'Why don't you call her number?' Or, 'Why don't you run a set [play] for her?' But the elite players play the entire game, and they don't need a play called for them. They go get the rebound and get out in transition. They're everywhere, where a steal leads to an easy two points. I thought I saw the best game overall for her in all those areas."
Maybe the most impressive part of Hayes' Sunday display was how she showed Colorado State how she can play much larger than her 5-foot-7 frame might indicate. Hayes brought down 10 rebounds against the Rams – her highest single-game rebounding total since becoming a Bulldog. In the process, she answered a challenge from her coach.
Purcell wanted his guards to all get several rebounds in Sunday's affair and, when they brought them down, he wanted them to look back in his direction as a response to his challenge. Well, Hayes got a board. Then she got another. And another. And another. Eventually…
"I told him, 'Well, that's 10 Coach," Hayes said. "He was like, 'I need that every game.'"
Hayes had crashed the glass, just like Purcell had instructed her to. He saw it as a key that'd push Hayes to even another level and Hayes resoundingly responded.
"I said, 'Annie, if you'll rebound the ball, watch how your night and the game changes and how much fun you're going to have," Purcell recounted. "Then, when you have 10 rebounds like she did, I'm all smiles. I'm so happy for her."
So let's recap. Hayes was already dishing it out. She was already scoring. Now, she's crashing the boards and making things happen there, too? Talk about a dangerous player.
"That was my plan this year, to do more and do what I can for the team to help win," Hayes said. "Coming back this year, I want to win. I want to win championships. So, I'm willing to work on whatever it is I need to work on to help us achieve our goals – whether that's rebounding or assisting – I'm willing to do whatever I can for my team to help us get the wins we need."
The better Hayes becomes, the better every Bulldog gets and vice versa. Hayes and her teammates have already proven they're a promising bunch as they've won four of their first five games with the lone loss a one-point defeat on the road at the hands of a nationally-ranked South Dakota State team.
Now, Hayes and the rest are ready to show that best is yet to come for all of them.
"We're all just having fun and pulling together," Hayes said. "We know we all need each other to meet every goal. We need every person on the team to get far."
