By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY, Iowa — That 7-0 record that Iowa’s women’s basketball team has is nice.

That No. 11 national ranking is a gaudy number.

But the Hawkeyes, dealing with injuries and trying to figure out where all the pieces fit, have some work to do, coach Jan Jensen said after Wednesday’s 86-69 win over Western Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I don’t think we’re good enough to say, ‘Oh, golly, 7-0 isn’t good enough,’” Jensen said after the game. “I got a lot of moving pieces. I’m trying to figure out different pieces at different times, and confidences are all over the board.”

Jensen’s new word to describe how the Hawkeyes are playing is “slodgy.”

“I think it is to be felt and seen,” she said when asked for a definition of the word. “I think ‘slodgy’ is just … it just isn’t fluid. It’s kind of like tough sledding, where something is real simple, but we’ll kind of make it hard. And I think that’s a little bit of our youth, sometimes.”

Western Illinois (4-1) kept the game from getting out of hand by outscoring the Hawkeyes 44-42 in the second half, shooting 50% from the field over the last two quarters. Still, Jensen was able to use her full list of available players, which was easy because it was down to 11.

Emely Rodriguez and Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright are “day-to-day” with their injuries, Jensen said. Teagan Mallegni is likely a week away from her return.

“It’s definitely hard when you have a few people go down,” said guard Taylor McCabe, who had 15 points. “We’re definitely missing some people right now.”

Jensen’s guard court depth was depleted enough that sophomore Callie Levin, who hadn’t played in the first half all season before, came into the game in the second quarter and ended up logging 13 ½ minutes for the game.

“I really think that is kind of a hallmark of our program,” Jensen said. “You know that you just kind of have to be ready. You know your role, and you know, it might change game to game. And these are kind of the moments that you’re ready for.”

This game was a big moment for freshman Addie Deal, who finished with 17 points and five assists — both season highs — while playing 30 ½ minutes.

Deal was 7 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 4 in 3-pointers, and looked comfortable playing both guard spots.

“She just was able to kind of think, just step back and let herself develop a little more and improve, and just go for it,” Jensen said. “You’re coming in and you have all of everybody’s expectations, but when you watch the film and you see where we needed to have some growth, you get a little bit more comfortable.”

“I’m comfortable playing point guard,” she said. “I’m happy to be whoever the coaches want me. But I thought we played really good as a team.”

Iowa used its size advantage against the Leathernecks — Ava Heiden, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Layla Hays, who had seven points, went a combined 9 of 10 from the field. The Hawkeyes also got five 3-pointers from McCabe to go with Deal’s threes.

Iowa shot 60.4% for the game, but also surrendered 21 turnovers.

“I think the thing I’m most just disappointed in would be the turnovers,” Jensen said. “You know, we handled a lot of full-court pressure down in Florida (when Iowa defeated Baylor and Miami last week), and then there was no full-court pressure (in this game).. So we were just really rushing and I think we were trying to do too much.”

The Hawkeyes play host to Fairfield on Sunday, then open Big Ten play at Rutgers next Saturday. Whatever pieces Jensen will have available is yet to be determined.

“It’s definitely good for our depth and growth as a team, because then you have more people getting more reps,” McCabe said. “And I know that when they come back they’ll be well integrated into the system again. But for now, we’ve just got to make the best of it and keep rolling.”

Photo: Iowa’s Addie Deal (left) congratulates Ava Heiden after a first-half basket in Wednesday’s game against Western Illinois. (John Gaines Photography)