Women's team hopes large crowd will help fight breast cancer

On Jan. 12 the women's basketball team (9-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) upset Ohio State in front of 2,845 screaming fans. It was the sixth-highest single-game attendance total ever at IU. But 2,845 fans aren't enough for coach Kathi Bennett. She said she wants to see over 5,000 at the game against Wisconsin 7 p.m. Friday to break the attendance record.\nThe highest single-game total at IU for women's basketball was in January of 1999 when the Hoosiers took on Purdue in front of a crowd of 5,503. \nBreaking the attendance record isn't the only thing Bennett and her team are hoping for tonight. That, a win against Wisconsin (3-13 overall, 1-5 Big Ten) and a $5,000 donation to the Wabash Valley affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer would make the night complete for Bennett and her team.\nThe $5,000 that will be donated if the attendance record is broken will come right out of Bennett's pocketbook.\nThe night has been titled "Pack the House" and will be full of information from volunteers from the Komen Foundation. They will hand out educational information on breast cancer awareness. The Komen Foundation has awarded more than 700 international grants totaling more than $87 million in breast cancer research. \n"I think it's an excellent idea," freshman forward Brigett Branson said of Bennett donating her own money. "I'm so excited about it. Not just to win the game but to have Coach donate the money."\nBennett said she really wants to see her team win tonight and hopefully in front of a record-breaking crowd. She said the awareness that they are bringing is really good.\nA large crowd at the Wisconsin game also means a source of inspiration for the players.\nBranson said the crowd is the team's source of energy and enthusiasm. She said her favorite memory this year is playing in front of the huge crowd when the team upset Ohio State.\n"The crowd makes you want to play harder and give it your all," Branson said. "You score a basket or get a defensive stop and you know there will be a huge roar from the crowd."\nSenior Jill Hartman said she remembers the intensity of the crowd when they played the Buckeyes at Assembly Hall. She recalled how the team was excited when they ran onto the court and so many people were actually there supporting the team.\n"[The fans] do so much for us," Hartman said. "They get us pumped to play."\nBennett said she thinks the crowd's support in close games is especially drastic. While it's the team's job to provide a game worth cheering for, Bennett said close games are where the crowd is most important. She's a firm believer in the sixth-man and it's effect on the players, she said.\nPlaying in front of a huge home crowd can make or break a game in the sport of basketball, which is why it's often hard to win on the road. The Hoosiers are 0-3 on the road so far in the Big Ten season. \nThe Hoosiers are hoping to break 5,000 in attendance, which has only happened twice at IU, but when compared to the rest of the Big Ten, that isn't such a big number. Purdue ranks eighth in attendance in the nation with an average of 6,945 fans a game. Seven other Big Ten schools made the list of high attendance but IU was not one of them.\n"I think we've got to build our own tradition and be consistent with some winning," Bennett said about IU's low attendance record. "Some people might not even know much about us. I think they're finally putting an emphasis on marketing women's basketball and really making a push for that."\nBennett said they've got to start somewhere and hopefully if they continue to put teams on the floor that work hard it will eventually draw big crowds.\nWhether or not the crowd helps IU win is a small issue compared to the good cause the team is playing for. High school and middle school girls' basketball teams throughout the state have been invited to attend the game compliments of the IU Athletic Department. IU students get in free with their student ID. \nHartman said she couldn't wait to see the crowd at the game on Friday and hopes that people know about their chance to attend the game and help fight cancer.\n"Not only can the crowd help us win our game," Hartman said, "but they can contribute to a good cause"