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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 29, 2006) - Sophomore Traci Edwards scored a game-high 19 points and led three more Panthers in double-figures, but it was not enough as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team fell to Marquette, 74-63, Wednesday night at the Klotsche Center.

Milwaukee, which was playing just its second home game of the season, fell to 3-5 with the loss, while the Golden Eagles upped their record to 6-1.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't pull out the win, but we're building and growing. We continue to make strides as a program. Marquette has a good team" Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "It still felt good. Four kids in double-figures and we took care of the basketball. But, we missed shots we normally make and offensive boards down the stretch killed us."

Sophomore Turquoise McCain added 13 points, while junior Meredith Onson scored 12 and sophomore Emily Markert 10 for the Panthers, which had won two-straight. Edwards also tallied seven boards and Onson added six assists in the losing effort.

"We have a lot of youth on the floor making things happen. They are gaining experience that will bode well in the conference," Botham said. "We have shown a lot of resilience while playing some of the best teams in their respective leagues and have seen it pay of every year.

"Turquoise is gaining confidence. Emily has a scorer's mentality. She just had tired legs tonight."

Danielle Kamm scored 19 points to lead Marquette and Krystal Ellis finished with 18.

UWM committed a season-low 12 turnovers, while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and dishing out 15 assists. The Golden Eagles had the edge in the paint, shooting 48.4 percent on the night and holding a 34-24 advantage on points in the paint. MU also outrebounded Milwaukee, 37-32.

"Our game plan was to switch things up defensively," Botham said. "We just lacked some communication at times and that led to open players. Krystal (Ellis) got hot, too, and hit some big shots for them."

Marquette led for most of the game, with the Panthers holding a brief one-point edge at 13-12 almost six minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles then reeled off six-straight points to take the lead for good at 18-13 on a Kamm jumper with 13:14 to go in the first half.

The Panthers remained close, clawing to within two late in the half, but could get no closer. A Markert three-pointer made it 29-27 with 6:36 to go in the half and Edwards pulled UWM within three with 1:35 with a jumper. The Golden Eagles headed into intermission with a 37-31 lead.

A 9-1 Marquette run late in the second half put the game out of reach at 66-52 at the 7:00 mark of the second half. The Panthers whittled their deficit below 10 just once more, when Onson made it a nine-point game with an old fashion three-point play with 29 ticks remaining. Ellis then converted two free throw to provide for the final tally.

UWM returns to action at Iowa State Saturday. The Panthers and Cyclones tip off at 2 p.m. in Ames, Iowa.