Thomas, though, is just different.

Second all time in minutes per game at MSU, the honorable mention All-Big Ten point guard is showing no signs of slowing down.

“She’s just proven that she can suck it up and do it,” Merchant said. “She’s just so physically and mentally tough.”

That mental toughness was challenged early.

Merchant said the team wasn’t responding to Thomas, so much so that it became a problem — one the team addressed following a 62-54 loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 28, 2009.

“I thought it was frustrating for her early on that people weren’t buying into her,” Merchant said. “But I think now she’s forced them to do it by her actions, by stepping up in big games and making free throws and making big shots.”

The change in her offensive game has been the biggest difference for Thomas. She wasn’t much of an offensive threat in her first two seasons. It wasn’t because she didn’t have the skills — she just didn’t use them. Now, she’s one of the driving forces behind MSU’s success. She came up no bigger than against Ohio State, where she scored a career-high 19 points, including a game-tying jumper with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Thomas said she is gaining her teammates’ trust on the offensive end, and when she scores, it matters. The Spartans are 2-0 this season and 6-0 all time when Thomas leads the team in scoring, and are 7-1 when she scores in double figures this season.

“I wasn’t a scorer early (in my career), so this year I stepped in trying to take more shots and help my team more productively on the offensive end, which is something new and you have to grow in to,” Thomas said.

It seems like the team realized the switch following the Ohio State game. Outside of hitting the tying shot in regulation, she had five of MSU’s 11 points in overtime.

“Right after the Ohio State game at practice the next day, (junior forward Kalisha Keane) kept saying that they released the beast and that’s the Brittney we knew that got here,” senior guard Mandy Piechowski said. “For some reason for the last few years, she didn’t see herself as a scorer. We have a scoring point guard on our hands now and have five people on the floor that people have to consider as a scorer down the stretch.”

Trying to score more isn’t the only change Thomas has undergone. She’s also being more assertive and has emerged as a prime candidate for captain next season.

“She’s a kid that’s always been like, ‘I’m going to give it my best and oh well,’ but now she’s like, ‘I’m going to give it my best and you better give it yours, too,’” Merchant said. “I think that’s a little bit different. She’s holding people a little more accountable at that PG spot.”

Outside of team-related issues, Thomas still had her knee to deal with in the early parts of this season. She missed the final 10 games of last season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament but returned and has started every game this season.

“I’ve definitely come a long way. I’ve come a long way. I’ve had people who watch me a lot and know me pretty well say I look better and better. It’s a little sore, but what can you do? You ice and prevent. Everybody’s pretty sore now, so I can’t complain.

“I felt heavy in the beginning of the season with the brace because you have some extra utility on your legs, but you get used to it and I think I’m a little smoother now. Hopefully it looks that way.”

But Thomas hasn’t let her knee serve as an excuse for anything, and her teammates certainly are taking notice of her efforts.

“She’s fighting for us for 40 minutes every game, she’s the person who never says she’s tired, who never quits, who fights in every drill,” Piechowski said. “If you need a sub (in practice), she’ll sub in for you after playing 40 minutes the day before, so I think to have that person leading you, it just makes you want to fight a little bit harder.”