LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Joclyn Kirton extended her academic pursuits at Biola in order to get a few years of eligibility to play basketball after her outstanding four-year volleyball career. Turns out that was a great decision as the graduate student was honored on Thursday with CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

Kirton is averaging 12.9 points-per-game and 8.6 rebounds-per-game in her second season playing under Head Coach Alan Nakamura. She's one of three players to start in and appear in all of the team's 23 games and has become a leader on and off the floor.

At the same time as dominating the hard wood with eight double-doubles, she's been dominating inside of the classroom, working a nearly perfect grade point average while pursuing at Master's in Business Administration at Biola.

In order to earn Academic All-District, and ultimately Academic All-American, honors the student-athlete must be at least a sophomore and attain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher while making significant contributions on the athletic side. She is one of six student-athletes to earn the honor for district four. She is the only student-athlete from the Golden State Athletic Conference to be recognized.

All Academic All-District honorees are now on the ballot for Academic All-American. The members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) vote on all of the nominees to determine the final list of Academic All-American winners. That list will be released for the College Division on Feb. 27.