However, after overcoming a 16-point deficit and defeating then-No. 15 Florida State and following the victory up with a 71-57 routing of then-No. 17 Texas, Merchant said the wins are definitely still big for the No. 15 Spartans (7-1).

“We think those are two teams that will be in the postseason mix though,” she said. “We looked at them more as, if we can get these two, these are quality wins for RPI ranking.”

The wins certainly helped the ranking of the Spartans, who, heading into tonight’s game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-4), are ranked ninth in RPI by collegerpi.com. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at Breslin Center.

A large part of the team’s recent success can be credited to redshirt junior forward Lykendra Johnson, who, after two double-doubles last week, earned Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.

Both Merchant and Johnson said they met before the team’s game at Florida State, a game in which Johnson went off for 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals.

“She really has always been such a team player that she doesn’t put herself in the mix enough offensively, so I just talked about her a lot about not deferring on offense,” Merchant said. “I said ‘I don’t care if you miss every shot you take, you have to take shots, you have to look for your shot.’ And I felt like she did that against Florida State and against Texas, and that makes our offense better.”

The Spartans will not get time to rest their legs anytime soon with three games in the next five days.

“This is an opportunity for our freshmen to kind of understand one-day preps are normal and it happens a lot in the postseason too,” Merchant said.

Junior guard Porschè Poole, who has provided explosiveness off the Spartan bench, agreed with her coach and brought up an important point.

“It’s going to get us ready for the Big Ten,” Poole said. “Playing teams like this during the preseason or whatever is getting us ready.”

With two trips to the state of Florida to go along with the two ranked contests, one could think the Spartans might come out sluggish against Milwaukee.

But senior forward Kalisha Keane does not believe fatigue will be a factor during the rough stretch.

“I think we do a good job of body maintenance,” Keane said. “Our trainer (LouAnne Jefferson) is great at getting us fluids and stretching and we get in a cold tub and make sure we flush out our muscles. We do a pretty good job and Coach (Merchant) does a pretty good job of monitoring.”

Keane currently is averaging 19.9 points, which is first on the team and third in the Big Ten.

Although the Keane and the Spartans likely are favored against the Panthers, they don’t plan on taking it easy on their opponents. With each game, they are getting closer to their goal of being a complete team, Merchant said.

“It isn’t about the wins, it’s about how we’re playing and our identity we’re getting to,” Merchant said. “I feel good about this team.

“I think that there’s a lot of improvement to be made, but every time we step foot on the floor, whether it’s a film session or on the court, I feel like we are learning more about ourselves and really trying to become a better team.”