“I was looking forward to the Ohio State game because of how we played against Purdue,” head coach Suzy Merchant said. “I thought we played with tenacity and toughness and grit. Ohio State’s a good basketball team, but I was disappointed with the way our guards played.”

To try to get a spark out of the underachieving Spartans, Merchant said she will switch the starting lineups a bit in an attempt to get players on the floor that are more energetic.

“Overall, in the Big Ten, we’ve played four games, there’s some kids that aren’t doing it on paper and its time to make a change,” Merchant said.

Freshman guard Porschè Poole, who is averaging 3.4 points per game in limited minutes, should expect to see more court time in an attempt to push the fast break and reduce turnovers. MSU has averaged 21.6 turnovers a game this season.

“We had guards that were turning it over (against Ohio State),” Merchant said. “And the one thing is if you’re not shooting the basketball and you’re not scoring, then you have to create opportunities for people that can. That’s where I think we have to make a change with kids who can go north and south, get into a gap, make a little shovel pass, make life easier for Allyssa (DeHaan) so she’s not getting pounded down there. Sometimes change is good. What Porschè did against Ohio State, she had turnovers, but hers were going north and south and to the rim, trying to get help side to come to create a shot for Allyssa and she’s the only guard we have on our team that will do that.”

DeHaan also has struggled with consistency, looking all-world against Purdue in a 17-point, 12-rebound performance, then earning only six points and seven rebounds against Ohio State.

But in that Purdue game, DeHaan said she found what can make her play at peak levels — playing angry.

“I figured it out,” DeHaan said. “You know how you bring yourself to a happy place? I bring myself to an angry place. I was fuming in the Purdue game. I have to play angry. I play better angry.”

The Spartans get to test their new strategies Thursday against Northwestern (5-10, 1-3), a team that also boasts a pretty strong center. Sophomore Amy Jaeschke leads the Wildcats with 16.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.

“She’s very talented,” DeHaan said. “We have have some redeeming to do on our home court from the Indiana game, so were pumped.”