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Sophomore forward Julia Pitts has tried to bulk up for basketball season, which remains a challen

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Pitts, shown here against UNLV on Nov. 23, has returned to the court following a devastating inju

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Measuring a woman by her weight may seem taboo.  Measuring a woman by her heart is not.  

That’s why sophomore Julia Pitts stands just as firm as the bigger and taller players she defends night in and night out for the UCLA women’s basketball team.

Entering her second season, Pitts is undoubtedly a pivotal part of this year’s Bruin squad. A mainstay in the starting lineup, UCLA has come to depend on Pitts for her defensive presence and rebounding.

However, because this year’s Bruin team lacks a true center, the 6-foot-2 Pitts is often pitted against players much bigger than herself.  

Pitts’ more than slender frame has made it difficult for the sophomore to physically impose herself on the opposition, something she has continuously tried to change. So far, nature has been unaccommodating.  

“No one would guess it, but I eat more than most people in the world,” said Pitts, who lists eating and dancing as her two favorite activities. “I eat and eat and eat, but I can’t gain weight.”

The undersized Pitts is doing anything and everything to put on the extra pounds to better combat the 6-foot-4 power forwards she faces twice a week. Unfortunately, nothing seems to work.    

A frequent visitor to BJ’s Pizza, Grill & Brewery and In-N-Out Burger in Westwood, Pitts admittedly chows down on buffalo chicken pizzas and cheeseburgers with the best of them. However, the results simply don’t show.

“She’s tiny, she’s a twig,” UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. “She can put some food away, but she has a fast metabolism.”

Pitts, who is said to live in the training room more than any other athlete, sticks to a strict regiment in hopes that she will start to see more muscle development. If she’s not pumping iron or doing squats in the Acosta training center, then she’s piling up the carbs in the De Neve dining hall.  

“After weights, I drink the little shakes and eat the Metrix bars, and then I eat a lot at dinner,” said Pitts of her weekly routine.

“You always want a kid to get stronger,” Olivier added. “Julia is a hard worker and her body will eventually get bigger.”

With her slight frame, Pitts’ play on the court is a dilemma in itself: Her greatest weakness is also her greatest strength.

To her own acknowledgement, Pitts knows there’s little she can do once a bigger player gets the ball into the low post.

However, what Pitts lacks in size, she more than makes up for in speed, agility and explosiveness.

Pitts’ attributes her jumping ability and explosiveness to her playing middle blocker for the North Torrance High School volleyball team, while she credits her great speed and lateral quickness to her running the 400 meters in track.

“I’m quicker than any other girl I’m playing against,” said Pitts, who  plans to compete on the UCLA track and field team in the spring.

“I get knocked down on the floor a lot because I’m smaller. But when I do get knocked around, it’s nothing to me. I can fall down on one end and beat everyone else down to the other end.”  

For Pitts, hitting the hardwood in any form is a relief after what she went through during her freshman year. Playing in only her eighth game as a Bruin, her collegiate career came to a crashing halt soon after it had begun. Pitts, UCLA’s third leading scorer at the time, seriously injured her left knee, tearing her ACL, lateral meniscus and the lower part of her hamstring, an injury that necessitated two different surgeries.

“I was shocked,” Pitts said of the injury. “When the doctor told me, I broke into tears.

“I never really had a serious injury ever before. Being on crutches for two months was hell. It was the worst time of my life. I hated it.”

The injury affected almost every aspect of Pitts’ daily life.

Instead of traversing the UCLA campus on foot, Pitts made the daily journey in an Office of Student Disabilities cart. Instead of playing with her teammates, Pitts sat on the bench, left wondering what difference she would have made if she were in the game. Instead of training and developing more muscle, Pitts was forced to focus on rehabilitating her knee.

Pitts still carries the memories of her traumatic experience with a heavy heart, and consequently has changed the way she approaches the game of basketball.

“I tried to stay positive throughout most of it, but there would always be those days that I couldn’t help but cry,” said Pitts, who still feels some lingering pain in the knee. “Every game I play in now I give it my all, because I always think about how easily I can get injured again. That’s why I always play 100 percent.”

A year later, her knee still forces her to take precautions during even the most simple of activities.

“I’ve even been limited to dancing since my knee has been bothering me,” Pitts said. “I have to stretch before I go to parties now.  Sometimes I even have to ice down when I get back.”

The physical and emotional roller coaster of Pitts’ first year and a half at UCLA seems to be subsiding, and barring any unforeseen injury, the sophomore will undoubtedly accomplish the goals she has set for herself.

Somewhere near the top of the list? Put on some muscle.

“I’m going to let nature take its course,” Pitts said. “I’m doing what I can. I eat enough, I lift. Over time, it’s going to happen. No doubt.”