Bell, who at 5 feet 11 inches tall has the size to play shooting guard, was forced to run the point, a position she said she still is getting used to.

“I’m getting a little more comfortable in that role; it’s just going to take some time because I haven’t played it before,” Bell said.

She said the better competition that UT Arlington presented gave her an additional challenge as the new position.

“That was the most pressure we’ve seen, so that’s the most pressure I’ve personally gotten,” Bell said. “I’ve just got to do what (head) coach (Suzy) Merchant tells me to do, (even) if I have to dribble it down the court and keep my butt out there just to get it down the court.”

Merchant said whether this team plays in transition or goes down in the post depends a lot on both defense and the play of the guards.

“We had a couple kids that were 18 and 19 (points) in our guard play, so those are pretty significant numbers,” Merchant said. “I do think we’re playing pretty good team defense and gap defense, for the most part. We do want to run. For example, if you look at (senior guard) Jasmine (Thomas), (junior forward) Annalise (Pickrel) and (Bell), those kids have high motors in terms of their output. Those are the three kids, and if we’re open in transition, that’s where they’re best, if we can get up and down the floor.”

Still, she said the Spartans need to do a better job of getting the ball inside.

“The thing I’m disappointed in a little bit is looking at (sophomore center Jasmine Hines) and (sophomore forward) Becca (Mills),” Merchant said. “They need more than five, six, seven touches; that’s part of the deal for us. As well as Jasmine’s numbers, with 11 (points) and seven (rebounds) in 19 minutes, I didn’t think she got enough touches, and the same thing with Becca.”

Coming off of shoulder surgery, Pickrel said she is comfortable shooting as a small forward or even playing in the post.

The driving and kick thing, that’s a huge, positive thing for our team,” Pickrel said. “Our guards are great drivers, and we have some threes, like me and (senior forward Courtney Schiffauer), that shoot like all the other guards that can shoot.”

For Merchant, there still is one thing that can affect the success of the Spartans that no style of play can come close to: the crowd.

“They’re here to cheer on their Spartans,” Merchant said. “Every one of those kids, regardless of their role or what they played in the past, owe it to those fans to bring energy and fight, and that’s what we saw.”