It took the longest game in their Canada West history, but the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades women's basketball squad beat the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds 88-82 Saturday to remain unbeaten on the season.

After the two teams swapped the lead several times, Chilliwack's Kayli Sartori had a chance to break the tie and win the game for UFV with four seconds left. But her shot fell just short and the game moved to overtime.

There, Sartori rallied her teammates in the two extra periods, scoring six of her 12 points on the night, making a pair of steals and setting up teammate Aieisha Luyken for four points of her own.

Nicole Wierks led all players with 21 points, with Luyken adding 16 and Alexa McCarthy and Sarah Wierks each posting 12. Sarah Wierks also pulled down 14 rebounds in the win.

"It was good to see us preserve," UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer said. "I thought UBC caught us watching the play all night, both on offence and defence. We need to be more assertive defensively and our offence we got back to some old habits. We need to learn from this game and move on."

Tuchscherer may have been less than enthusiastic about the win because the previous night the Cascades demolished the Thunderbirds 76-48.

Both teams had entered the game 4-0, and the two teams played a tight opening half, with the Cascades trailing by one point after the first quarter and leading by just a basket at the half.

But the Cascades dominated the second half, holding UBC to just 19 points.

Sarah Wierks led the Cascades with 16 points and six rebounds. Her sister Nicole posted 14 points, while fellow Chilliwack product Courtney Bartel notched 13 points. Kayli Sartori led the Cascades with seven rebounds.

"I'm really proud of our effort in a gym we have not had a lot of success in. I thought the girls played better as the game went on," Tuchscherer said after the game.

With the wins, UFV is now alone at the top of the Pacific Division standings and remain the second-ranked women's basketball team in the country.