As they get ready to play U-M on Thursday, the Spartans again get a week to rest, and they are using it to the fullest.

“This is a time to take a breath and figure out what we’re going to do, and how we’re going to do it and work on some things that we need to that have been bothering us,” head coach Suzy Merchant said at her press conference Monday.

“I feel like we’ve had a good combination of rest. At the same time a good combination of getting after it and focusing on the task at hand and making whatever it is that’s bothering us hopefully a little bit better on game night.”

With only four games left until the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans will be playing in their first game as the conference front-runner. The team looks primed to clinch its first championship since 2004-05, Merchant said.

“I feel like there are some returning veterans that certainly want to be in this position,” Merchant said. “I feel like our veterans are stepping up and putting this team on their back and that’s what you want this time of year. Can we handle it? We’ll certainly find out.”

Though the last month of play has been great, Merchant said there is no time to enjoy it.

“The truth is there’s a pit in your stomach whether you’re winning or losing,” Merchant said. “It doesn’t matter. You’re trying to get your team to play at a high level. It’s an emotional situation with Michigan coming to town. … Is it time to enjoy it? Not now. I don’t think you can.”

To get there, however, the team will have to ride a tough road. Though three of the last four games are at Breslin Center, two of the games are against teams that have at least 10 conference wins.

The last time MSU took on the Wolverines, the game was played at a slow and tantalizing pace. With the score only 19-17 at halftime, the Spartans toughed out a 41-37 win. Merchant said she doesn’t expect Thursday’s game to be much different.

“Michigan is such a great defensive team,” Merchant said. “They really do a great job of protecting the paint. They can get out in passing lanes, they can switch a lot of screens, I just think very solid defensively. Certainly our goal is to run the best offense we can … They have a player that didn’t play the first time, a very good offensive player in Carmen Reynolds … I think we’re going to have to defend better than we ever have. I think she adds a different dynamic that we didn’t play the first time.”

A big key to sweeping U-M this season will be the play of junior center Allyssa DeHaan. Though battling through some injuries, DeHaan has been the reason MSU has won its last two games. She posted 16 points against Ohio State and 20 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks at Indiana.

“We need her to do that,” Merchant said.

“She was blocking shots, she was doing a lot of things besides just scoring for us.”