What started out pink turned a vibrant green as the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades proved they can compete on any court anywhere when they handed the mighty UBC Thunderbirds three losses in four games on the weekend at the Envision Athletic Centre.

The Cascade women, sporting pink ribbons and pink shoe laces in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's 'Shoot for the Cure,' gave the crowd a nail-biter of a game Friday night, going head to head with the T-Birds right from the opening whistle. When the dust had settled, UFV had pulled ahead in the final minute, taking the game by a solid 65-57 score.

"[It was a] nice win for our squad," said head coach Al Tuchscherer. Everyone uses UBC as a bit of a measuring stick, he said, pleased to see his team go toe-to-toe with the No. 3 nationally ranked team.

"The girls played tough tonight."

Leading the way in scoring was Mission guard Aieisha Luyken with 17 points, Nicole Wierks (12) and Sarah Wierks (8), of Chilliwack.

The Cascade women couldn't parlay that momentum into a double win however, falling to the Thunderbirds on Saturday night 60-58 right at the buzzer.

In an exciting second half, UFV stormed back to trail UBC by two points going into the final frame.

The lead changed hands several times before UBC tied the game and put it away with two free throws in the final second to seal the win.

"It was a really gritty performance tonight," said Tuchscherer.

Luyken again led the scoring with 15 points while Tessa Klassen picked up nine.

The Cascades regular season record falls to 11-6, but is good enough for second place in the West Division as they clinch their fourth post-season berth in six years.

UFV will have home court advantage in the Canada West quarter-final series (best two out of three) on Feb. 23-25 at the Envision Centre.

In men's action, UFV swept the two-game series from UBC, 77-72 photo galler Friday night and abbotsford 94-83 Saturday.

"[I] couldn't be prouder of the guys' commitment to hard work in our program," said head coach Barnaby Craddock. "I feel like our chemistry is improving with each game."

Joel Friesen led the scoring both nights for the Cascades (18 points Friday and 23 on Saturday), while Kyle Grewal (13 Friday), Sam Free-man (12 Friday, 19 Saturday) and Jordan Blackman (12 on Friday, 16 Saturday) contributed to the wins. On Friday, Abbotsford's Jasper Moedt scored 10 points and a team-leading 17 rebounds.

The Cascades record improves to mes.com 12-5 as they remain in third place in the West Division, with one regular-season game remaining against Trinity Western University in Langley on Thursday.

With the wins, UFV clinches a post-season berth, with location of the men's quarter-finals still to be determined.

JKonda-Witte@abbotsfordtimes.com