POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Marist women's basketball team lost a hard-fought battle to 15th ranked Georgia tonight at the McCann Center, 79-62. The Bulldogs shot a powerful 62.5% from the field and proved too much for the Foxes to handle down the stretch. After being down just one at the half, Marist was within as few as four points with 8:00 remaining in the game. Georgia's Janese Hardrick drained 13 points in the final 4:32 to help put her team up for good.

The game started off sloppy, with three turnovers committed in the firs 1:20, before a point was scored. The Bulldogs got on the board first with a Cori Chambers' jumper, but Marist's Kristen Vilardi (Fishkill, NY) answered with a layup seconds later. Marist would take its first lead of the game off a Megan Vetter (Havertown, PA) three-pointer at 16:30 to go up 7-6. The two teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, but the Bulldogs pulled away to a 22-13 lead after a Sherill Baker steal and jumper. Georgia kept the pressure on, leading 30-20 until the Foxes forced a turnover and foul by Jessica Pierce with 3:50 left in the half. That left the door open for a 13-4 Marist run to close the half, including back-to-back treys from Vetter. A last-second jumper by Alexis Kendrick put the Bulldogs up 34-33 at the half.

Georgia came out swinging in the second, going on a 9-2 run keyed by Tasha Humphrey and Kendrick. Vetter would drain another three to pull the Foxes within four, starting a back and forth scoring rally. Marist went on a 5-0 mini-run capped by a three from senior captain Kristin Keller (Poughkeepsie, NY), to pull within four, 52-48 with 13:23 remaining. Both teams' momentum slowed significantly in the next five minutes, but Georgia took a 58-52 lead following a Humphrey jumper into the under-eight media timeout. Alexis Waters (Lansing, MI) drained a free throw at 6:17 to pull Marist within five at 58-53, which would prove to be the smallest Georgia lead of the closing minutes. While Marist struggled to get clean offensive looks, the Bulldogs rode out the game on Hardrick's hot-shooting.

Hardrick finished the night with 15 points, 13 in the last five minutes of the game. Georgia's Humphrey led all scorers and rebounders with 26 points and 10 boards for a double-double.

Keller led Marist with 20 points and eight boards, including five offensive while Vetter tallied a career-high 16 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc along with three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Waters, a freshman, was a spark off the bench for Marist, chipping in six points and five boards while Fifi Camara (Conakry, Guinea) picked up nine points, six boards and four assists. Marist shot an improved 42.9% from the field, while committing 20 turnovers and forcing 19 from the Bulldogs.

The Red Foxes will be in action again following the Christmas holiday when they travel to California to take on San Francisco (Dec. 28) and St. Mary's (Dec. 30).