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16 2017 Northwest Arkansas Basketball Sunday, November 5, 2017 the time," Neighbors said. "Nothing soft about it. Try to play it for a while. It takes five people playing together, un- derstanding each other and having a lot of practice at it. It will be a continued work in progress." Neighbors' defense is more about contest and contain. He's looking for a lower field goal percentage for the op- ponent and good rebounding from his team. "With our lack of size, we have to play together as a pack of five," Neigh- bors said. "If we count on individual de- fense, we're gonna struggle with that in this league. We play as a pack." Swenson, who played in all 30 games and averaged 8 points per game a year ago, said Neighbors has made learning fun. "He doesn't necessarily punish us," Swenson said. "He wants us to make mistakes so we can learn from those mistakes and encourage us to get bet- ter. In the process, we're laughing in practice. We're having a lot of fun, but we're also learning and improving at the same time." Paul Boyd can be reached at pboyd@nwadg. com or on Twitter @NWAPaulb. Razorbacks v Continued from Page 15 NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Junior Keiryn Swenson averaged eight points per game in 30 games for the Ra- zorbacks, including 11 starts last season. She also was second on the team with 31 made 3-pointers. Arkansas women's capsules By Paul Boyd Malica Monk POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-5 CLASS Junior HOMETOWN North Little Rock LAST SEASON Started 27 games and averaged 9.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game. … Scored in dou- ble figures in 13 games with a career-high of 18 against Stetson. … Led the team with 62 steals and averaged a team-high 31.2 minutes played. THE SKINNY "No returner will benefit more from our fast-paced attack than Mal. She was made to run an offense and defense that we like to play. We forged a strong bond very quickly. The trust that we place in Mal will be obvious to everyone who watches us from day one." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors A'Tayanna Gaulden POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-7 CLASS Sophomore HOMETOWN Ocilla, Ga. LAST SEASON Averaged just 5.7 minutes and 1.1 points per game while play- ing in 21 games as a fresh- man at Florida State. … Transferred to Arkan- sas. THE SKINNY "Using every single day of her transfer year to learn the decision-making we require of our perimeter players will be their role this year. Not being able to participate in games is tough thing. But she is a tough kid. She will make all of our other perimeter play- ers every day in practice and at the same time hone her game to be ready for next year." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Raven Northcross-Baker POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-7 CLASS Junior HOMETOWN Malvern LAST SEASON Averaged 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals, while starting 33 games at Chioola College and helped her team advance to Junior College national tournament quarter- finals and led team in scoring. THE SKINNY "If you want to play fast, you need players who can function fast. Raven has done it at the high school and junior col- lege level. She will be an important part of us establishing a pace that some others have never played. A proven winner who combines that with an Arkansas Pride, being from Mal- vern, that we need spread through our team." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Keiryn Swenson POSITION Guard/Forward HEIGHT 6-1 CLASS Junior HOMETOWN Wichita, Kan. LAST SEASON Averaged 8.0 points per game playing in all 30 games, after averag- ing just 2.7 points per game as a freshman. … Scored in double figures in 12 games, including a career-high 23 points against Houston Baptist. … Ranked second on the team with 31 3-pointers made. THE SKINNY "To play a positionless style that we employ, you need a Keiryn Swenson who embraces that and can create match-up prob- lems for opposing teams. She can use the tal- ents that make her unique to make a defender wrong in a variety of ways and a variety of situations." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Kiara Williams POSITION Forward/Center HEIGHT 6-1 CLASS Sophomore HOMETOWN Alexander LAST SEASON Played in 20 games, including making five starts, while averaging 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. … Scored career-best nine points in 14 minutes of action against Louisiana-Monroe. THE SKINNY "It's impossible to play fast with- out your interior players being committed to running the floor. It will be Kiara that triggers our transition. She has been diligent in our early practices do just that as well as being our toughest back to the basket presence." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Grayce Spangler POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-11 CLASS Freshman HOMETOWN Fayetteville LAST SEASON Helped Fay- etteville to the Class 7A state championship as a reserve. … Returned early in her se- nior season from knee surgery. THE SKINNY "Consistent winning is not a trait that follows every student/athlete but that's what you get with Grayce. Scholastic team and summer teams won. Powderpuff football, tug of war, tailgate corn hole… she's a winner. We need that mentality she brings every day." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Jailyn Mason POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-9 CLASS Sophomore HOMETOWN Mason, Ohio LAST SEASON Started all 30 games as a true freshman and averaged 7.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. … Earned SEC Fresh- man of the Week twice. … Posted a pair of double-dou- bles in points and assists. … Dished out 11 assists against Houston Baptist, the most by a freshman in the Southeastern Conference. … Shifted to point guard for three games and committed just two turnovers in 109 minutes. THE SKINNY "Leaders by example usually take time to develop. It took about one practice for us to recognize that wouldn't be the case with this squad. Jailyn has been that for us ev- ery day since. Multiple positions, multiple roles, multiple demands… she delivers regardless. Triple doubles in 40-minute games are very difficult, but wouldn't surprise me to see Jailyn pull one off this season." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors Sydney Stout POSITION Forward HEIGHT 6-0 CLASS Sophomore HOMETOWN Bixby, Okla. LAST SEASON Started as a walk-on but earned a scholarship. … Played in 15 games, averaging 1.1 points per game. THE SKINNY "Fits our "bright spot" approach perfectly. Very understanding of her strengths and finds a way to play toward them. Her roles could change from game to game and we are confident she can fill each of them." — Arkan- sas coach Mike Neighbors Devin Cosper POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-10 CLASS Senior HOMETOWN Coffeyville, Kan. LAST SEASON Averaged 6.4 points per game in 29 games. … Scored in double figures in eight games with a high of 18 at Missouri State. … Shot 31 percent (23-of-75) from 3-point range. … Tied career high with four steals against Vanderbilt. THE SKINNY "Every transition requires an an- chor point for stability. Devin's decision to use her last year of eligibility was our first sign that we would have strong leadership returning. She will be an important voice in the locker room. We will count on her to play multiple po- sitions and score from them all." — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors v Continued on next page