CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. â€" The Western New England College women's basketball team is heading into post-season play with a lot of momentum.

Junior forward Sharon Simoncelli (Litchfield, CT) came off the bench to score 13 points while pulling down eight rebounds and junior guard Christine Aldrich (Montpelier, VT) added 10 points as the Golden Bears earned a 56-48 victory over host Emerson in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Brunelli Gymnasium on the Pine Manor College campus.

Western New England College ran its winning streak to nine games and improved its record to an impressive 19-5 under rookie coach Nicole Chaszar. The Golden Bears, who placed third in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a 10-2 mark, will host sixth-seeded Suffolk (15-10, 7-5) in a quarterfinal round game of the GNAC Tournament on Wednesday.

Western New England College made six of its first seven shots and held a 33-21 lead at half-time. Emerson pulled within 48-47 with just under three minutes remaining before the Golden Bears scored the next five points to put the game away.

Senior center Lisa Masella (Newtown, CT) contributed nine points and a game high 14 rebounds while sophomore guard Jennifer Dabrowski (Plainville, CT) chipped in with six points and seven assists.

This was the 13th time this season that the Golden Bears have held an opponent to under 50 points in a game.

"I’m excited about our progress throughout the season and extremely proud of how the girls responded to me and my coaching staff," said Chaszar. "We look forward to making a good showing in the post-season."

In the other GNAC Tournament contests Wednesday, top-seeded Emmanuel (19-6, 11-1) takes on eighth-seeded Emerson (10-15, 5-7), second-seeded Norwich (21-4, 11-1) hosts seventh-seeded Simmons (12-13, 7-5), and fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales entertains fifth-seeded Saint Joseph, Connecticut (12-13, 7-5).