Nikki McCray-Penson is wasting no time restocking her team through the transfer portal early in the offseason.
On Thursday, the first-year Mississippi State women’s basketball coach landed three sister transfers who hail from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Anastasia, Aislynn and Alasia Hayes will all join the Bulldogs beginning with the 2021-22 season. Anastasia and Aislynn come in from Middle Tennessee, while Alasia is a transfer from Notre Dame.
“I can’t believe we get to do this together once again,” Alasia said in a tweet Thursday night. “It’s such a blessing. Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity to play with my sisters. It means the world to me.”
She averaged 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in just under eight minutes per contest for the Fighting Irish this season, playing in 13 games off the bench before opting out of the second half of the season.
Anastasia was one of the best players in Conference USA, averaging a whopping 26.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game on a Blue Raiders team that made the NCAA tournament. Aislynn was the team’s second leading scorer with 14 points per game, pulling down 6.2 boards per contest.
Anastasia will graduate from Middle Tennessee this summer and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Aislynn will have three seasons to play with the Bulldogs.
The three transfers will join former Tulane standout Jerkaila Jordan in Starkville next season. Jordan averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game for the Green Wave.
Madison Hayes selects new destination
Thursday also brought news relating to another Tennessee native named Hayes — former five-star freshman Madison Hayes, who announced March 29 she would transfer from Mississippi State.
Hayes — no relation to the three transfers — announced North Carolina State as her new destination. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, product averaged 4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 20.4 minutes per contest for the Bulldogs.
She became the sixth player to leave Mississippi State after the end of the season. Aliyah Matharu is headed to Texas, Yemiyah Morris transferred to West Virginia, Sidney Cooks seeks an opportunity to attend law school, and Xaria Wiggins and JaMya Mingo-Young have yet to announce their new destinations.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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