The Spartans steadily climbed the ladder to end their season 19-13 overall.

The thing about the Spartans throughout the season, however, is that you never know which team is going to show up to the court on game day — the driven, emotional team or the flat, heartless one.

Defense: C+

Head coach Suzy Merchant has said her team’s defensive rebounding drives her “absolutely crazy.” Numbers ranging from 10 to 39 on the defensive boards would drive any coach crazy.

Sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan leads MSU in defensive rebounds with an average of 5.4 per game, with freshman forward Kalisha Keane right behind her, averaging 4.5 a game.

Offense: B

Last-minute runs have been the name of the game for the Spartans this season. The offense always seemed to kick in right in the nick of time to pull out wins against Illinois, Purdue, Iowa and Michigan.

For most of the season it was either a comeback win or a not-even-close loss. The offense came more and more alive as the season went on, but fell flat in its latest game against Illinois.

The loss to the Fighting Illini in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament was a clear example of an emotionless team missing an offense.

If the Spartans don’t get their offense on the right track, they won’t stay on the postseason train too long.

Bench: A-

Merchant has had to empty the bench during most games in an attempt to find the missing piece. A lot of times, it works.

Sophomore guard Mandy Piechowski, senior guards Alisa Wulff and Courtney Davidson, and freshman forward Cetera Washington all have contributed in key moments.

Most recently, Wulff came off the bench late in the second half, her first appearance in the game, against Minnesota to nail a 3-pointer to seal the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win.

Coaching: B+

For an entirely new staff, it has been a job well done so far. Merchant was faced with a substantially increased amount of pressure compared to what she was accustomed to at Eastern Michigan.

After a shaky start, she handled it well.

Of the four first-year coaches in the Big Ten this season, she fared the best of them all. Considering the Spartans’ record of 19-13 overall and 10-8 in Big Ten play, Merchant has the best chance to be the only first-year Big Ten coach to make it to the NCAA Tournament this season.

U-M (17-13, 9-9), Penn State (13-18, 4-14) and Illinois (19-14, 8-10) also are being led by new coaching staffs.