MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant has expressed her frustration with the players’ lack of consistency individually and as a unit once they hit the hardwood.

“In a young team you have to show some toughness,” Merchant said in regard to the team’s close 65-62 victory against Illinois Thursday.

“I just wish we would show that kind of competitiveness and that kind of toughness for 40 minutes, and I think that’s been our struggle.”

In five of the Spartans’ (12-10 overall, 4-6 Big Ten) first six Big Ten games, they used a steady starting lineup of three freshmen — forwards Cetera Washington and Kalisha Keane along with guard Brittney Thomas — combined with sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan and senior guard Alisa Wulff.

However, that lineup has not represented the Spartans since the first time MSU tipped off against U-M on Jan. 13. Three players have snuck into recent starting lineups: senior guard Courtney Davidson, sophomore center Lauren Aitch and junior guard Mia Johnson – who is a growing threat on the court as her summer ACL injury pesters her less.

Merchant noted the inconsistency of the performance, both on offense and defense, is why the starting lineups have been spinning like a revolving door.

“(Experimenting with lineups) is not a bad thing, but when you play other people (they) aren’t in the same realm,” she said. “We haven’t settled on seven people, which most teams have done at this point, and some of that is because we’ve brought Mia back in the mix.”

While Johnson has started the last two games and her minutes are increasing, her play is no exception to the team’s trend of up-and-down performance.

Johnson scored 20 points against Illinois Thursday, only to struggle against Minnesota later that weekend, shooting 20 percent from the field and 0-for-5 beyond the arc. Keane and Aitch also have struggled with roller-coaster performances, combining for nine turnovers against Minnesota and only two against Illinois three days prior.

If the team is going to turn its season around, Merchant said consistency must come from all positions.

While MSU sometimes will start out hot offensively, they’ll pull a 180-degree turnaround and bounce the ball off every angle of the rim.

MSU shot 33.3 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from 3-point range Sunday in Minnesota.

However, just three days earlier in Illinois, the team shot 41.4 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively.

“It is frustrating because I feel that we are getting good looks at the basket,” Merchant said.

“It was a good sign to see Mandy step up and hit shots, but the other night it was Mia, which is good, but we need a real good balanced scoring attack and we didn’t have that against Minnesota overall.”