MVNU (23-7) notched its seventh straight win and advanced to the semifinals by upsetting No. 4 seed University of Northwestern Ohio 74-71 on Tuesday on the Lady Racers’ home court. The victory also helped the Lady Cougars match the school record for wins in a season at 23 set previously during the 1993-1994 campaign. MVNU, which began the year with a 10-game winning streak, is averaging 74.1 points per contest while nailing 7.2 three-pointers per game. The Lady Cougars are also limiting their opponents to just 37.8 percent shooting from the field and just 26.7 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc.

Individually, sophomore post Amanda Himes leads MVNU in scoring (19.6 points per game) and rebounding (10.5 rebounds per game) and has returned to form after missing eight games in the middle of the season with mononucleosis. Senior guard Rachel Fiely adds 13.3 points and 3.4 rebounds and has set new school single-season records with 200 assists - second in the nation - and 98 steals - 13th in the nation. Freshman forward Alexis Harkins contributes 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Lauren Johnson and senior post Melissa Mastrodonato average 7.2 and 7.1 points respectively.

Walsh (19-11) will enter Saturday’s game having lost its final two games of the regular season after making its first appearance in the NAIA Division II poll the week before. The Lady Cavaliers average 71.3 points and 4.4 three-pointers per game. They also shoot 43.5 percent from the field and 71.6 percent from the free throw line.

Individually, Katie Berry leads Walsh in scoring at 13.6 points per game to go with 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Cara Bedard adds 12.4 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds while shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 81.2 percent from the free throw line. Chelsea Chaffin (8.1 ppg), Kristi Yoder (7.7 ppg), and Leah Seaman (7.6 ppg) are also key contributors.

These two teams met only once during the regular season with the Lady Cavaliers posting a 73-71 win on their home court on January 3 as MVNU went scoreless for 6:21 in the second half while Walsh was in the midst of a 22-5 run to take the lead in the game. Berry led the Lady Cavaliers with 20 points and Chaffin added 17 points to the winning effort, while the Lady Cougars were led by Fiely and Harkins with 20 and 18 points respectively. Himes did not play in that game.

The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the AMC Tournament championship game on Tuesday to face the winner of the other semifinal game between host No. 2 seed Ohio Dominican University (17-11) and No. 3 Daemen (N.Y.) College (22-7), who held off No. 6 seed University of Rio Grande 73-66 in the first round on Tuesday. The AMC Tournament winner receives the conference’s third automatic berth in the NAIA Division II national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.

Saturday’s game can be heard live online at http://wnzr.fm/sports.html by clicking on the women’s basketball link.