Lady Vols dismiss sophomore guard Anastasia Hayes from team

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee has dismissed guard Anastasia Hayes from its women’s basketball team.

Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick said Friday in a school release that the 5-foot-7 sophomore from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was dismissed due to a violation of team rules. The nature of the violation wasn’t specified.

Hayes was named the SEC’s sixth woman of the year as a freshman last season. She scored 9.3 points per game to rank fourth on the team. Hayes also averaged 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 24.3 minutes.

Her exit means that Tennessee will return only one of its four top scorers from the team that went 25-8 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Tennessee opens the season Nov. 11 by hosting Presbyterian.