Despite snow, team still raised $10,000

10,000 fans for $10,000. It was a simple formula IU coach Kathi Bennett and the Vera Bradley Foundation had in mind for this season's "Pack the Hall" celebration for Sunday's game against the Purdue Boilermakers. More than 10,000 tickets had been sold for the game, making the attendance goal seem possible.\nEnter Old Man Winter. Several inches of snow fell in a matter of hours, causing traffic problems throughout the Bloomington area and keeping numerous fans from attending. \nDespite the weather, 7,110 fans managed to make it to the contest -- good for the second-largest crowd in school history. Despite not hitting the 10,000-person goal, the Vera Bradley Foundation still made the $10,000 donation because more than 10,000 tickets were pre-sold.\nSunday's attendance ranks behind the 7,986 fans who showed up to last season's "Pack the Hall" night, when Bennett gave $5,000 of her own money to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Prior to Bennett's acts of charity, the last time the attendance record was broken was in 1999 when 5,503 fans showed up for another game against Purdue.\nBoth the coaching staff and the players were thankful for the support they received in the game.\n"The crowd was awesome," junior Jenny DeMuth said. "We're upset we couldn't give them a win. Just to see so many fans come out and support us was great." \nUnfortunately, the fans weren't enough for IU, as the team was decimated by a dominating defense, falling to the Boilermakers, 71-47. \n"Their defense was tough," sophomore Cyndi Valentin said. "They switched a lot of screens that we were setting, and our offense didn't do so well, that was the difference in the game."\nSenior Shereka Wright led the Purdue attack with 22 points, three blocks and two steals. Wright was especially effective from the free throw line, hitting 10 of 12 in the game. Freshman Erin Lawless followed up Wright's performance with 18 points coming off the bench. \nIU held its own in the first half of the contest, leading for the first five minutes. The Hoosiers' final lead came with 9:09 left in the first half when freshman Annika Boyd hit a three-pointer from the corner. IU then went on a mammoth scoring drought as the team failed to hit a field goal until DeMuth hit a jumper with 17 seconds left in the half. Despite the drought, IU was still within striking distance, facing a 33-25 deficit at halftime. Purdue then put away the game with an 11-4 run to place the score at 44-31 at 13:06, and the Boilermakers never looked back.\n"Their defense changed in the second half, they really took Cyndi (Valentin) and I out of the game," DeMuth said. "I think that was the biggest difference."\nWhile the loss was tough on the team, Bennett was pleased with the crowd's fortitude for showing up at the benefit.\n"I just want to thank the crowd for coming out, especially with the bad weather," Bennett said. "To see the attendance we had was great, and I'm very thankful for that. I wish we could have shown them a much better game. Just to see the crowd come out to support that cause is a positive"