When the University of Victoria Vikes and the UBC Thunderbirds meet in men’s and women’s basketball, it is regarded as one of the best rivalries in Canada.

However, it is starting to wear a little thin as one team — the Thunderbirds — dominates.

That trend continued Friday at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver, as the women T-Birds knocked off the Vikes 83-66. UBC has now won nine of the last 11 meetings. UVic’s last win against UBC came on Nov. 28, 2008.

At 14-3, the No. 4-ranked Thunderbirds have wrapped up first place in the Pacific Division. With a record of 8-9, the Vikes must beat UBC on Friday at McKinnon Gym to qualify for the Canada West playoffs.

The Vikes had a strong first half, holding a 42-32 lead. But UVic ran into foul troubles and was outscored 51-24 in the second half. UBC finished the game on a 21-2 run. Four of the UVic starters — Jessica Renfrew, Cassandra Goodis, Sarah Semeniuk and Chelsea McMullen — all had two or more fouls by the half. Renfrew and Goodis both fouled out of the game.

“We played great for 20 minutes, so-so for 10 and awful for the final 10 minutes,’’ said UVic coach Rich Chambers. “We were in foul trouble the entire game and that hurt us. When you are worried about fouls, you lose intensity and focus.’’

Zara Huntley sparked UBC with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Kristjana Young had 14 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Nanaimo product Cassandra Knievel also netted 14 for UBC, while former Vike Kristen Hughes contributed 11.

Allison Mulock led the Vikes with 16 points, including three, three-pointers. Debbie Yeboah added 15 while Semeniuk chipped in with 13.

UBC’s men’s team defeated the Vikes 68-52 and now have won 11 consecutive games against UVic, dating back to Jan. 19, 2008. The Thunderbirds also recorded a perfect regular season at home, going 9-0.

Both UVic and UBC have 13-4 records and first place will be decided Friday at McKinnon Gym. The women’s game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the men at 8 p.m. UVic is ranked No. 4, while UBC is No. 7.

For the most part, it was a low-scoring struggle between the top two defensive teams in Canada West. Before the game, UVic was No. 1 defensively, allowing 70 points per game, while UBC was

No. 2 at 70.2.

Nathan Yu had 22 points for UBC. Ryan MacKinnon had 13 points for UVic, while Zac Andrus netted 10.