CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There was legitimate positive spin Iowa women’s basketball could lean on following Sunday’s high-profile stumble to then-unbeaten Maryland, that the Hawkeyes’ second-half comeback was a better representation of this team than their first-half faceplant.

There’s no justifying Thursday night.

Inside a largely empty State Farm Center that presented zero daunting elements, the Hawkeyes’ 62-57 loss at Illinois exposed almost every area where Iowa needs to accelerate growth as the Big Ten slate picks up steam. The offensive sputters were in abundance, as was the uncertainty when late tension kicked in.

A game in which the No. 23 Hawkeyes never trailed by more than six in the fourth quarter was there to win with even moderately successful play down the stretch. The fact Jan Jensen’s squad responded to that situation with six points and two field goals over the final seven minutes accentuates the reliable gene Iowa is still hunting.

More: Iowa women’s basketball: No. 23 Hawkeyes fade late at Illinois

“I do believe in this team,” Jensen said. “The teams (we’re facing) are a little bit better. I think the pressure is probably a little bit greater for them with the Big Ten lens on. So I’ve got to hit that right balance of their youth and enthusiasm, while (being) demanding.

“I think that we’re freezing a little bit in the harder moments. That’s what I was disappointed in today. When they came out and swung back, we didn’t quite put our hands back up.”

With that, here are some additional takeaways from Thursday’s loss.

Hear from Lucy Olsen after Iowa women’s basketball falls at Illinois

Hear from Lucy Olsen after Iowa women’s basketball falls at Illinois

The Hawkeyes need to re-establish their veteran leadership.

Of everything Jensen said postgame Thursday night, this snippet is arguably the most significant.

“We’ve got to develop a little bit of upperclassmen leadership,” Jensen said. “I think that is what we’re missing.”

That line was part of a bigger answer about slogging through adversity and the importance of letting this year’s Iowa team establish its own identity, separate from what’s been accomplished in the past. After dropping consecutive Big Ten games for the first time in nearly four years, the Hawkeyes need their veteran voices to take control.

What does that look like? There’s a reason why it might be missing in the amount Iowa needs.

From what they’ve shown publicly in interviews and on-court interaction, Iowa’s two most consistent offensive players — Lucy Olsen and Hannah Stuelke — don’t project the “get-in-your-face” personality. There’s nothing wrong with that, and we’ve seen how beneficial bubbly, energetic demeanors have been for the Hawkeyes. But it’s clear Iowa is still searching for that authoritative voice when things are spinning sideways.

Elsewhere on the roster, production isn’t lining up right now with better candidates for that demanding role. Sydney Affolter seemed to be the obvious alpha replacement following Kate Martin’s departure, but the senior’s re-acclimation following offseason knee surgery has unfolded much slower than expected.

More: Iowa women’s basketball vs Illinois recap: Hawkeyes fall in Champaign

Although Jensen said Affolter has been battling the flu, Thursday marked the 12th time in 15 games Affolter has failed to reach double-digit points. Fellow seniors Addi O’Grady and Kylie Feuerbach have been too up-and-down so far as well.

This isn’t to say Iowa doesn’t have the leadership it needs baked into the roster already. It certainly does. But whether that’s some players stepping outside their comfort zones or others producing more consistent stat lines to match the required energy, the Hawkeyes can’t let losses stack up without a sound response.

“I’m hoping this is one of our lower points,” Jensen said. “There are a lot of big games left. Sometimes you get to a point where it’s like, ‘Whoa this is reality now. It’s my job as a junior, it’s my job as a senior to kind of lead them through it.’ Syd had the flu. She wasn’t her best self tonight, but she gave us what she could.

“But I think collectively, we’ve got to keep pushing on that standard. I told them I love them; I’m super proud of them. But as the stakes get a little higher, we’ve got to raise our level of intensity and what we expect of ourselves.”

Hear from Iowa women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen after the Hawkeyes fall at Illinois

Hear from Iowa women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen after the Hawkeyes fall at Illinois

Diving more into Iowa’s starting-lineup change and what it might signal moving forward.

All the ingredients were there for a riveting storyline. Roughly 80 miles from her hometown of Peoria, freshman Aaliyah Guyton got the call to make her first collegiate start as Iowa opted to go small against Illinois’ versatile posts and decent guard lineup.

Those storybook elements didn’t quite materialize, as Guyton mustered two points and four turnovers in 16 minutes. She played just three minutes and took one shot in the second half.

“We’re trying to learn how to utilize the depth,” Jensen said. “I felt like with this particular game, they have a really nice guard lineup. And with our offense, we’ve been struggling in the perimeter. We haven’t had a lot of power percentage-wise as we’ve started games. Up to this point, Aaliyah had been 12-for-21 on threes, and I thought she’d earned it. It was a good game to, I think, try that.

“And so I thought we started the game pretty well. We just didn’t withstand when they came back a bit. Then I think she got a little bit down. And we missed some defensive assignments late, especially when we went back with her. So we’re going to have a little bit of that with the youth.”

Even if Thursday’s experiment didn’t quite work in the moment, the Hawkeyes must start rolling the dice with their promising youth. As Jensen alluded to, Iowa’s depth is only a weapon if anyone in the main rotation can be deployed in any situation. This will inevitably help Guyton’s ascension even if the results don’t arrive immediately.

Expect to see more of these minor lineup tweaks depending on what the foe offers on the other side.

“Just continuing to grow and grow together, start working better together,” said Stuelke, whose double-double Thursday came with her mostly at the ‘5’ position as a result of the lineup shift. “Getting shots up, all the little things I think will be really important for us.”

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.