Jahnna Hajdukovich rescued the UAA women’s basketball team Sunday in Hawaii.
Hajdukovich, a sophomore guard from Anchorage, came off the bench to pour in 19 points to lead the 10th-ranked Seawolves to their eighth straight win, a 59-47 victory over upset-minded Hawaii-Hilo.
UAA trailed by 10 points in the third quarter, and it was Hajdukovich who helped close the gap. The Dimond High grad scored eight points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game 40-40.
Hajdukovich’s big night featured 7-of-12 shooting, including 4 of 8 behind the arc. She was one of the lone bright spots for a UAA team that shot a dismal 27.6 percent (16 of 58) and had just three assists on those 16 baskets.
Take away Hajdukovich’s performance, and the Seawolves barely shot 20 percent from the field.
“I want to commend Hilo on a strong effort today, but I should also say we’re very lucky to come away with a victory after how poorly we played for most of that game,” UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said in a release from the school.
“We made poor decisions, unforced turnovers and rushed shots. We’re fortunate Jahnna was on offensively, or else this could have been a different outcome.”
Rebounds and free throws kept the Seawolves in the game. They outrebounded the Vulcans 40-28, getting nearly half of their boards on the offensive end, and they sank 23 of 31 foul shots.
Senior guard Safiyyah Yasin sank 9 of 10 free throws for 15 points and gathered a career-high eight rebounds. Yazmeen Goo and Kedranea Addison each chipped in seven points, with Goo adding four steals.
All of Addison’s points came in the fourth quarter as the Seawolves outscored Hilo 19-7 to pull away. The Vulcans (1-7) opened the quarter with a 3-pointer but didn’t score another field goal the rest of the game.
UAA gets more than a week off before its next game, a Jan. 2 conference game against Seattle Pacific in Seattle.