Briefs: Lions’ Norman lauded

Vanguard University senior Melissa Norman has been named Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Week in women’s basketball for the second straight week.

The 6-foot-2 center amassed 30 points, 24 rebounds and five steals in the No. 12-ranked Lions’ GSAC wins over Menlo and William Jessup last week.

She made eight of 12 field-goal attempts in a 72-69 home victory over Menlo on Thursday, then had 13 points and 14 rebounds (seven offensive) in 23 minutes of an 62-42 home triumph over William Jessup on Saturday.

Vanguard (9-3) plays host to Cal State San Marcos in a nonconference game Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

— From staff reports

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UCI’s Hiura honored

UC Irvine baseball standout Keston Hiura, the 2015 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, has been named a third-team preseason All-American by Perfect Game.

Hiura, an outfielder, led the Big West in runs batted in (52) and total bases (118) in his first collegiate season, batting .330 with 75 hits and a .520 slugging percentage. Starting all 56 games, he had seven home runs, 18 doubles, two triples and scored 40 runs.

He received All-American recognition from Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn. and Perfect Game following his 2015 campaign.

Over the summer, Hiura hit .356 with 42 RBIs for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast summer league. He reached safely in a league-record 41 straight games.

UCI plays it annual alumni game on Jan. 30 at Anteater Ballpark, and opens the season on Feb. 19 in the first of a four-game series at San Jose State.

— From staff reports