This team still is learning who they are and what they can eventually be, and Bell said coming out in the second half after being tied was a good answer to the pressure the Eagles demonstrated.

“At halftime, we talked about so many things that we need to do, and as a team, it’s great for us to be able to respond the way that we did,” she said. “As being a team (with) players who haven’t gotten a lot of minutes before, we’re starting to find our identity as a team together. It’s going to be a process, but we’re definitely getting there.”

Head coach Suzy Merchant said it was nice to see how her team responded after the challenge Eastern Michigan presented them on Thursday.

“We don’t have that many players, because of our injuries and suspensions, and we’ve got to find ways when things don’t go our way and we’re in the confines of somebody elses gym,” Merchant said. “You’ve got to kind of find out what group those six kids, seven kids are going to be.”

Senior guard Jasmine Thomas stepped up with the suspensions and injuries to many key players, and Merchant said her 13 points, seven assists and seven rebound performance gave her more confidence before going into the tougher portion of the season.

“Sometimes Jasmine’s speed just keeps going and she doesn’t transfer it from east and west to north and south getting up there,” she said. “That was good to see her do that because she’s so fast and can create some offense for us from our defense.”

With Bell emerging as a scoring leader for this team, Merchant said she has all the talent; it’s just in how well she understands the use of it.

“She’s got to start understanding that she’s a pretty darn good player,” Merchant said. “She has skill sets that are hard to guard. She can handle it, she can shoot a pull up jumper, she can hit a three, she can take it to the rim, she can drive and kick, she a tough matchup.”

Thomas said she was proud of the way MSU made adjustments from listening to the coaches at halftime and coming back to get the win.

“We already knew coming in there would be some adversity,” Thomas said. “Playing away you’re already at a disadvantage. We definitely pulled it together within ourselves. We just all put it together and made it happen the second half.”

On a night where Merchant was making a homecoming to the team that gave her her first Division I job, Thomas was facing off against Eastern Michigan senior center India Hairston, a teammate from Hamady High School in Flint, but said there wasn’t any extracurricular activities between the two.

“We’re friends, so it was all good,” she said. “I’m not the big talker all the time. We may catch it here and there, but other than that it was a good game. No hard feelings my way.”

The next time the Spartans hit the court will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center against Virginia Tech, and Merchant said it’s just another step on the difficulty ladder.

“They just keep getting bigger and better,” Merchant said. “It’ll be a tough game for us on Sunday, but we’re going to enjoy this one right now.”