Junior guard Klarissa Bell led the team in points (19), rebounds (8) and assists (6), and junior forward Annalise Pickrel also had a strong game, recording 18 points along with hitting four of her seven 3-pointers.

With five Spartans in double figures, head coach Suzy Merchant said they will continue using a scoring-by-committee style of play before they find that one player they can rely on.

“The more balance you can have, the better, especially because we don’t have those kids out there creating their own shot,” Merchant said. “We don’t have that go-to guy where you just give her the ball, put her on the wing and she’ll get something done. We need a little bit more of a well-rounded approach.”

As a captain, Bell said she was taking the open opportunities the other team was presenting and that it’s not going to be her stepping up every night.

“It feels good to be a leader like that, but I think everybody is going to have their nights,” Bell said. “(Senior guard) Jasmine Thomas the last two nights, and (senior forward Courtney Shiffauer) is just a beast down there. Everybody just accumulates our points, so I don’t think there’s a star performance.”

Still, she said that reliable player will eventually emerge.

“Today, it was me who shined; the next game, you don’t know who it’s going to be,” Bell said. “Coach Merchant really wants to find that person that’s going to be our go-to player. It’s just going to take time; it’s not going to be somebody that’s just going to be our go-to player — it’s not magically going to happen.”

Leadership isn’t always defined as the player who scores the most points, and Shiffauer said she is focused on leading by bringing energy and physicality to the team.

“(From) a leadership standpoint, they can rely on me to not take any crap from any team,” Shiffauer said. “On my team, people know I like to get into people, I like that kind of stuff, so I think they feed off of that energy, and that way I can keep the team up; I can keep them hyped by just getting in there like I’ve done the last four years here.”

For Merchant, she believes her players are using their lack of depth as fuel, and said many players need to step up if this team is going to succeed.

“To me, it’s never the opportunity; it’s what you do when you get it,” Merchant said. “Everybody wants the chance, everybody wants to play, everybody wants to be the person and now here it is.”