IU hopes to pack Hall

The Old Oaken Bucket, the Monon Spike, the Barnburner trophy and the Titan Series are all by products of a rivalry that has stood in Indiana history -- IU and Purdue.\nAnother page will be added to that rivalry when the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers will lock horns this Sunday at Assembly Hall. However, the age-old rivalry is far from the focus in this game.\nThe game is not just a rivalry game, it's the 2004 Hoosiers "Pack the Hall" game.\nIf more than 10,000 fans attend Sunday's game, the Vera Bradley Designs Corporation will donate $10,000 for breast cancer research. If IU coach Kathi Bennett succeeds in her mission, it will shatter IU's existing attendance record of 7,986 fans set last season in a 69-58 loss to Wisconsin.\nDonating money is nothing new to the Hoosiers, as Bennett donated $5,000 of her own money to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation after nearly 8,000 fans attended last year's "Pack the Hall" game Jan. 24, 2003.\nLast year was so powerful it even had an effect upon the opposing team.\n"I want to congratulate coach Bennett and the community on creating a great atmosphere for women's basketball," Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said. "This crowd only strengthens the support for women's basketball in the Big Ten." \nLast year, IU players were pleased to see such a reaction.\n"It was awesome to see all the people come out and support us," sophomore Cyndi Valentin said.\nThe Hoosiers will have quite a battle ahead of them with the perennially strong Purdue Boilermakers. This season has proved to be no exception, as the Boilermakers are tied for second in the Big Ten with a 4-1 conference record and have a 14-2 overall record when the Indiana Daily Student went to press. The No. 8 Boilermakers are also on a five-game tear and recently upset then No. 6 Minnesota 65-56 on Jan. 18. \nSenior forward Shereka Wright leads the Purdue squad with a 19.3 points per game average and is tied with junior Emily Heikes in rebounding with a 6.6 rebounds per game average. Freshman Katie Gearalds has emerged as another weapon in Purdue's holster with 9.4 ppg and 2.3 apg averages. \nThe Hoosiers will certainly have their own weapons in the contest with IU's dynamic duo junior Jenny DeMuth and Valetin averaging a combined 34.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. DeMuth is also quite adept at pickpocketing, with a 3.0 steals per game average, placing her second in the Big Ten. DeMuth ranks among the top five in the conference in scoring, rebounds and steals, while Valentin leads all Big Ten sophomores in scoring with a 15.0 ppg average.\nSix-foot seven-inch freshman Sarah McKay has also emerged as IU's much-needed third weapon, averaging 6.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 1.5 blocks per game. McKay also ranks among the top ten in the conference in both blocks and offensive rebounds. \nSunday's game certainly won't be all about the basketball with so much money being involved. Bennett said the chance to raise money for the breast cancer research was an honor.\n"It is an honor for us to be able to team up with Vera Bradley for such a great cause," Bennett said in a press release. "The research that they are doing and the strides that they are making are phenomenal and give hope that we are coming closer to finding a cure."\nThe IU women's basketball team will come into the Purdue contest on a two game winning streak after overtaking the Illinois Fighting Illini 63-56 Thursday.\nJunior Jenny DeMuth ended up only two rebounds shy of her seventh double-double in the season with 18 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Freshman center Sarah McKay turned in another fine performance, logging eight points, 11 rebounds and an impressive six blocks in the contest. \nIU improves to 3-3 in Big Ten play and 10-7 on the season while the Fighting Illini drop to 1-6 in conference play and 7-11 on the season.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.