Going into its Friday game against Marquette, the Michigan women’s basketball team continued to emphasize its three-item agenda: win offensive rebounds, don’t get stagnant on the court and don’t rely too much on its three veteran players.

But in falling 63-49 to the Golden Eagles, the Wolverines could only check one of those off the list.

Although both teams started the game rather sloppily, it was Michigan who found a rhythm first. The Wolverines gained an 11-2 lead early and looked as though they would overpower the much-shorter Marquette team.

But Michigan(1-2) fell into a downward spiral, losing the battle on the offensive boards and once again experiencing a dull spell on the court.

"They got up and pressured us and got into our grill a little bit and we didn't do a very good job one-on-one trying to get by them," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "The sad part of this is that they are not a big team; they are a small team and we got outmuscled the whole game long."

As sophomore guard Jenny Ryan air-balled a three-point attempt with the Wolverines leading 11-4, the tide started to turn. The Golden Eagles took advantage of the miscue and scored quickly in transition — a trend that repeated itself all night. Michigan came back down the court with another wild shot by sophomore center Rachel Sheffer, giving Marquette the chance to put away two unmatched baskets.

The Golden Eagles then stole the ball back to ignite a 16-2 run, quickly erasing Michigan’s nine-point lead. The Wolverines committed 10 turnovers in the first 14 minutes of the game and 19 on the night, their highest yet this season.

Marquette tallied 24 points off of Michigan turnovers. The Golden Eagles also dominated the Wolverines in offensive rebounds, 14-8, and put away 15 second-chance points.

Despite a late comeback run to put Michigan up by one going into halftime, the Wolverines only scored 22 first-half points, their fewest since last February. Prior to Marquette, Michigan tallied at least 40 points in the first half in both games this season.

“We had some stagnant play on offense, and we never got into a good flow during the second half,” senior Veronica Hicks said. “Marquette did a good job on the glass to keep us to one shot. We didn’t really get any offensive second chances.”

In the second half, the Golden Eagles out-ran, out-rebounded and out-shot the Wolverines. Marquette hit its first 3-pointer coming out of the locker room to regain the lead and start an 18-2 run, which put the game away.

“They got up in our face, put pressure on us and we couldn’t do anything,” Borseth said. “That was the whole game.”

But sophomore forward Sam Arnold stepped up, despite playing in a hostile environment to give the game some hopeful prospect.

Arnold led the Wolverines offensively, tying her season-best 12 points and hitting a career-best, four 3-pointers off the bench in the second half. But Arnold was the only Michigan player to reach double figures. Sophomore guard Kate Thompson followed with nine points and Sheffer tallied eight.

That left the big three returning players at the bottom of the stat sheet. Junior guard Carmen Reynolds, who has hit at least one three-point shot in her last 13 games, went 0-for-1 from behind the arc, as Ryan and Hicks each scored just six points on the night.

“Marquette was a decent team, but they were definitely beatable,” Hicks said. “It’s a challenge every time to try and create that energy when you are on the road. Now that we got this one out of our system, I think we are looking forward to these next three (on the road).”