Saturday’s exhibition game between UCLA and team Love and
Basketball marked the return of Julia Pitts.
While freshman guard Noelle Quinn’s game-winning
buzzer-beater captivated the crowd, all eyes were on Pitts, the
sophomore starting forward from the first second she stepped on the
court.
Well, actually Pitts’ knee was in the spotlight. Adorned
with a clamped blue knee brace, Pitts made her basketball debut
since she injured her left knee against Baylor back on Dec. 19,
2002.
After undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery and taking an
11-month hiatus, Pitts was back on the court in her first game.
Pitts, who averaged 10 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game
last season in eight games as a starter, answered any skepticism in
the win against L & B when she played a solid 21 minutes,
scored 12 points on 3-3 shooting, and grabbed three rebounds.
“I felt good, and I’m getting back to my regular
playing shape,” Pitts said. “I’ve been out pretty
long, but once the season starts, I’ll be back to top playing
condition.”
Pitts showed extreme resilience as well as tenacity throughout
the time she was on the court as she faced off against 6-foot-5
former Bruin center Janae Hubbard. Giving up nearly 100 pounds,
Pitts’ knee was tested throughout the contest.
“My knee is about 95 percent now,” said Pitts.
“It was really tough playing against Janae, but I knew I had
to use my quickness as an edge over someone that has that much size
over me.”
Pitts assessed her overall performance in her first game back as
being positive, but her knee is not in the shape it was a year
ago.
“I’ve been pretty much going full speed in practice,
so my knee feels about the same,” Pitts said. “But it
still gets a little tight towards the end of the game, so I have to
make sure that I stretch it every single time I’m out of the
game.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
UCLA’s top women’s basketball recruit, Charde
Houston, canceled her press conference to announce her college
choice.
The 6-foot-2 Houston, a consensus top-10 national recruit, would
fill a substantial area of need in the post. Houston is believed to
be choosing from Connecticut, UCLA and Texas, and could even wait
until the spring signing period to make her decision.