ORLANDO, FLA. – On the second day of competition at the UCF Thanksgiving Classic, the Villanova Wildcats dropped a 71-56 decision to the UCF Knights. With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 3-2 on the year, while UCF improves to 5-1. 
 
Following a three-ball by senior guard Adrianna Hahn that gave Villanova a 24-23 lead with 5:13 remaining in the second quarter, UCF finished the half on a 9-3 run to take a 32-27 halftime advantage. Knight guard Kayla Thigpen led the UCF spurt with a three-point field goal from straight away and a lay-up.
 
UCF started the third quarter by scoring six straight points to take a 38-27 lead. After a Villanova timeout, the Wildcats answered with a three-ball by junior forward Mary Gedaka. On the Knights next possession, Sydnee McDonald drained a three from the corner to push the lead back to double figures at 41-30.
 
Holding a 43-35 lead midway through the third quarter, UCF went on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter and take a commanding 56-38 advantage after three.
 
Villanova made one last run at the Knights and cut a 17 point lead to 65-56 at the 3:26 mark. Junior guard Kelly Jekot had five points in the spurt, while Gedaka added a conventional three-point play. Following a breakaway lay-up by Jekot, the Wildcats failed to score the rest of the game and the Knights earned the victory.
 
In the win, Jekot led the Wildcats with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including a 5-of-12 effort from three-point range. Hahn finished with 13 points, while Gedaka tallied 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
UCF was paced by Korneila Wright who had a game-high 20 points and Thigpen who finished with 17 points.
 
For the game, the Wildcats were 20-of-55 from the field (36.4%), 12-of-36 from three (33.3%) and 4-of-8 from the foul line (50.0%), while the Knights were 30-of-67 from the floor (44.8%), 2-of-6 from long distance (33.3%) and 9-of-14 from the charity stripe (64.3%).

Villanova returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 28, when the Wildcats play host to the Princeton Tigers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
  
NOTES: Kelly Jekot has scored double figures in all five games this season…The Wildcats committed a season-high 21 turnovers in today's loss…Villanova falls to 90-44 when playing in in-season tournaments…Today was the just second all-time meeting between Villanova and UCF with the series now tied at 1-1.