Looking for young players to help pick up the slack, Merchant said freshman center Jasmine Hines likely will be one of the players to receive more minutes.

Standing at 6-foot-3 with overpowering strength, Hines can be an imposing presence inside.

“I think the one thing is her strength. I don’t know how you can watch her and not see that,” Merchant said. “You can toss that thing into traffic, and she’ll get it. And we needed that with Madison going down.”

Adjusting to the college game can be difficult for a young player, and Merchant said Hines will have to be ready to face double teams, something she often dealt with in high school.

However it’s the combination of size and good hands that Merchant thinks will make Hines an important contributor as the season progresses.

“She can pin and seal someone into the bleachers, and her hands are off the charts,” she said. “(When she gets the ball), we know she’s going to power that thing up, and if she doesn’t score it, it’s probably … going to be a foul. Her development is going to be crucial to … our team’s success.”

Ratcheting up the defense
One aspect of Sunday’s gameplan that appeared to give the Oakland Grizzlies trouble was the way the Spartans were able to change defenses throughout the game.

After starting the game in a zone defense and falling behind, MSU decided to switch to a man-to-man defense, and junior forward Courtney Schiffauer said she noticed a change in intensity.

“We did a lot of defenses. … I think we pulled out three or four of them, and I think that messes up the other team,” Schiffauer said. “Some of the defenses are an up-in-your-face kind of thing, and that really gets the team pumped up.”

Merchant said the team had been working on various defenses the past couple days, and she believes they compliment each other well.

“I’ve never been just a (man-to-man) only kind of coach,” she said. “That is the staple. I definitely love to play (man-to-man), and I think you have to have good man-to-man principles to be a good zone team.”

Watch out
Although senior guard Porsche Poole is the Spartans’ leading scorer, it’s her passing that has left a mark with her teammates.

Leading the team in scoring, Poole said she is committed to everything she can to help the team win.

“Coach always says we’ve got to have people (that) we know what we’re getting (from) each night,” Poole said. “I feel like my team knows I’m going to do whatever it takes. If that’s score, that’s what I’m going to do, and I try to get more people involved by getting assists.”

Sometimes, those assists can be coming when players least expect it.

Schiffauer said she and her teammates have learned to keep their head up when they’re on the court with Poole, or they might get hit in the face with a pass.

“I’ve had some of those. … It happens to everybody because you never know when it’s coming,” Schiffauer said. “She’s a terrific passer. She passes. If you’re open, you know she’s going to get you the ball.”