Himes, a 6-foot-1 post from Hilliard, Ohio, averaged 15.9 points and 12.3 rebounds as a senior at Hilliard Darby High School on her way to earning All-Ohio Honorable Mention accolades. She was also an Ohio Capital Conference First Team and an All-District Second Team pick, and she finished as the school’s second-leading scorer all-time (642 points) and the program’s all-time leading rebounder (469). She also had the program’s best career field goal percentage (49.6 percent).

"We are excited about Amanda’s decision to attend MVNU next year,” said MVNU head coach Steve Gregory. "Not only is she a tremendous basketball player, but she is also a great student and tremendous person. She had an outstanding senior season and that pushed her to be her school’s second all-time leading scorer and also the all-time leading rebounder as she averaged a double-double for the year.”

"Amanda will come in and compete for playing time at the 4 and 5 positions,” Gregory added. "She is a very good athlete at 6-1 and is very well put together. She has tremendous speed and runs the floor very well, which will be a plus in our transition game. She does a good job of posting up and sealing to receive the ball, and she can also handle the ball out on the perimeter which will catch some teams off guard with her abilities. I look forward to the opportunity of helping Amanda reach her full potential as a Christian student-athlete over the next four years.”

In addition to playing basketball at Hilliard Darby, Himes as named to the OCC First Team and the All-District First Team in volleyball.

"There are several reasons why I chose MVNU,” said Himes of her college choice. "I really like the atmosphere of the campus. Everyone was very nice and friendly. I also like the players that I met and played with in open gym - they seemed to truly care that I was there and were so willing to help me. Another thing that I like is the coaching style and the coaches themselves. Even though basketball is what brings us together, the coaches still keep everything in perspective.”

The Lady Cougars, who are an NAIA Division II school, finished the 2006-2007 season with an 11-17 overall record.