Something unusual happened Thursday night during the women’s basketball game—the sixth man came off the bleachers.

And that man was a monster.

The 6,118 people created the monster that led the Huskies to a 20-point victory over the DePaul Blue Demons, 92-72.

“The crowd made a 20-point difference,” senior Carol Owens said. “There are no better fans than the ones we have here and I say that from the heart through what I’ve seen and experienced at other schools.”

The 6,118 total marks the largest crowd to ever witness a basketball game at Chick Evans Field House and it was the largest crowd to see a women’s game in Illinois history. The previous record came the last time NIU faced DePaul at Alumni Hall when 4,294 fans witnessed the Huskies beat the Blue Demons by just 6 points, 81-75.

The amazing part of the story is that there were students turned away at the door because the fieldhouse was already filled up.

“The fan support is just incredible,” point guard Denise Dove said. “They were definitely a sixth man. Even if you would’ve put our crowd in Alumni Hall, we would’ve won by 20.”

The packed house was definitely a different feeling for the players because this particular team has only played in front of 2,000 plus at home before.

“When I came here I thought I was late because there were so many people already here,” senior Kris Weis said. “The crowd totally overwhelmed us. It was great.”

DePaul coach Doug Bruno who heard the fans yell to him, “Sit down coach,” various times throughout the game felt the crowd definitely made a difference.

“They were throwing things in that I think were really the responsibility of the emotion created by the crowd,” Bruno said. “The sixth man is what really did a job.”

“When it came down to the line and DePaul made that run at us,” NIU coach Jane Albright said, “it went through my mind that you don’t do this in front of 6,000 people and I know that is the most positive pressure in the whole world.”

The biggest effect the standing room only crowd had on the game came with 7:20 left in the contest. DePaul cut the Huskie lead to just three points, 64-61. After the Blue Demon bucket, the fans rose to their feet, clapping and yelling. That’s when NIU put the game out of reach.