Langley, BC - Nikki Cabuco hit a pair of free throws with just four seconds remaining to give the UFV Cascades a 67-65 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday night.

The win moves the Cascades to 8-2 on the year, while TWU now falls to 7-3.

After a loss the previous night, the Cascades started strong building a 16-11 lead in the first quarter, but Trinity Western answered back to have the teams even at 35 heading into the half.

UFV eked out a two-point advantage going into the fourth, but with two minutes remaining the Spartans had taken a two-point lead of their own at 62-60. Natalie Rathler got the layup to fall to level the score with 1:39 remaining, before taking a feed from Maddy Gobeil on their next possession and drilling a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. The Spartans found yet another answer with 24 seconds remaining on the clock as Shemaiah Abatayo hit a three to tie it up once again. A Cascades turnover seemed to give TWU a chance to win it, but Cabuco managed to strip the ball with five seconds left and as she turned up court, she was fouled to send her to the line. Calm as can be Cabuco hit both shots and a last-ditch attempt to tie it from the Spartans rimmed out to give UFV the victory.

"Nikki had recently turned the ball over, but her mistake response was awesome," UFV head coach Al Tuchscherer noted about Cabuco's play at the end of the game. "She didn't hold her head down, it was just about getting a stop now. She ended up getting the steal, got fouled, and went to the line. Kudos to her, that was a really mentally tough play."

Rathler, Gobeil, and Julia Tuchscherer all had a share of the Cascades' lead in points for the game with 15, while Deanna Tuchscherer had 10.

Hailey Roekel led the Spartans with 23 points in the game, while Jayden Gill had 16, and Abatayo had 10.

The Cascades now get a chance to reset before their next games in January, when they play host to the Calgary Dinos on January 13 and 14.