(LEBANON, Ill., March 6)--For the fourth time in seven years, McKendree University and Columbia College will face off in the championship game of the American Midwest Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Bearcats and Cougars will tip off the conference tournament championship game on Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. at McKendree's Melvin Price Convocation Center. The title game was originally slated for Friday, March 7, but Tuesday's inclement weather forced an adjustment in the tournament schedule.

The top-seeded Bearcats spoiled an upset bid Thursday by No. 4 Missouri Baptist University, 69-50, in one AMC Tournament semifinal game in Lebanon, Ill. The other AMC semifinal game needed extra time to decide a winner as No. 3 Columbia outlasted second-seeded Harris-Stowe State University in overtime, 63-56. The Cougars became the first road team to win an AMC post-season game, men's or women's.

McKendree and Columbia are no strangers when it comes to AMC Tournament championship play. The Bearcats and Cougars met in the finals of the 2002, 2004 and 2005 tournaments, with all three meetings coming in Columbia, Mo. The Bearcats won the first contest, 82-77, before Columbia netted victories of 87-79 in 2004 and 105-68 in 2005. Saturday's game will mark the first time that the teams will square off in Lebanon for the tournament championship.

The winner of the AMC Tournament championship will receive the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, which will take place March 19-25 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. To view the AMC Tournament bracket, click here.

Following Saturday's AMC Tournament championship game, the 2007-08 AMC All-Conference team will be released.