MVNU (24-7) notched its eighth straight win and advanced to the championship game of the AMC Tournament for the first time in school history with a convincing 84-70 win at top-seeded Walsh University in the semifinals on Saturday. The victory also helped the Lady Cougars set a new school record for wins in a season at 24 breaking the previous mark of 23 set during the 1993-1994 campaign. MVNU, which began the year with a 10-game winning streak, is averaging 74.4 points per contest while nailing 7.2 three-pointers per game. The Lady Cougars are also limiting their opponents to just 38.0 percent shooting from the field and just 27.0 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc.

Individually, sophomore post Amanda Himes leads MVNU in scoring (19.7 points per game) and rebounding (10.6 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 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds and has set new school single-season record with 210 assists - second in the nation - and 100 steals - 16th in the nation. Freshman forward Alexis Harkins contributes 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Lauren Johnson and senior post Melissa Mastrodonato average 7.6 and 6.9 points respectively.

Ohio Dominican (18-11) will enter Tuesday’s game on a five-game winning streak after nipping No. 3 seed Daemen (N.Y.) College 69-68 in the semifinals on Saturday. The Lady Panthers average 64.9 points and 6.6 three-pointers per game. They also rank fourth in the nation in free throw percentage at 75.7 percent, and they have posted a 9-3 record at home this year.

Individually, Amanda Ritzler leads the balanced Ohio Dominican attack by averaging 9.9 points, while Chelsea Rogers (9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds), Kirsten Ruen (8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds), Summer Hale (8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds), and Melissa Hersey (7.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists) all contribute to the team’s success. Ritzler and Ruen are also the team’s top two three-point threats as they have made 56 and 44 respectively.

This will be the third meeting of the year between these two teams as the home team has won each of the previous two. MVNU posted a 45-35 victory back on November 14 as Himes led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Ohio Dominican returned the favor with a 67-61 win on January 27 as Jordan Smithberger led four Lady Panthers in double figures with 14 points off the bench.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will receive the conference’s third automatic berth into the NAIA Division II national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. The final poll comes out on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. CST as well as the complete list of the 32 teams to make up the field. The live action from Tuesday’s game can be heard by logging on to http://wnzr.fm/sports.html and clicking on the women’s basketball link.