Yes, the sixth-year MSU women’s basketball coach saw her team stumble out of the starting block in its biggest game of the season. The Spartans managed just 14 points and 21.9 percent shooting in the first half against Purdue in the tournament championship.

Yes, her leading scorer on the season was held scoreless in that game. And yeah, one of her starting forwards fouled out as MSU attempted a late rally in the waning minutes.

In reality, making the championship game alone is worth celebrating. That was the last thing Merchant or guard Jasmine Thomas wanted to hear after the game, with tears still fresh in the senior’s eyes, but it’s true.

“It is a group that has played extended minutes,” Merchant said. “Even in games where you should have been sitting them, they were used to logging lots of minutes. … (The) number one thing is we’re not going to make an excuse.”

The Spartans suffered their first losses of the season before it even began as two players were shelved with season-ending injuries, with a third going down five games in.

Injuries, coupled with suspensions for redshirt freshman forward Akyah Taylor and sophomore guard Kiana Johnsonthrough the first nine games, forced a core of six or seven players to log heavy mileage.

Johnson and Taylor’s return gave the Spartans much needed depth to cap Merchant’s rotation at eight players on a good day.

With these factors in play, the Spartans battled to 24 wins and a top-four finish in the Big Ten.

MSU built its identity in the most physically and mentally taxing way by establishing itself as one of the elite defensive teams in the country — ranking in the top 15 nationally in points allowed the entire season.

All things considered, is it shocking MSU came out so flat in the championship, allowing Purdue to pound the ball in the paint? Not really.

Credit is owed to the players, though, who never used fatigue as a crutch.

It would have been easy to succumb to the dregs of a long season after falling out of the title race, but they didn’t. Merchant wouldn’t allow them to. In fact, she challenged her players to play at an even higher level.

The Spartans overachieved in nearly every way, and that’s a tribute Merchant’s work.

The disappointment of the Purdue loss will linger for coach and player alike, there’s no doubt. Although Merchant would be the last person to pat herself on the back, this adversity-stricken season already is a success before it’s even finished.

MSU’s tournament run should improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament, and it can now look forward to a week off before the selection show Monday.

“I hope (the disappointment) fuels them a little bit, that they use it to think about what kind of player they want to be the next time they step foot on the floor and what kind of aggressor they want to be,” Merchant said.

Stephen Brooks is a women’s basketball beat reporter for The State News. He can be reached at brook198@msu.edu.