BIDDEFORD — The streak continues, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time for the University of New England women’s basketball team.

By beating Western New England 68-56 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) quarterfinals on Tuesday night, the Nor’easters move its winning streak to 11 games, all against conference opponents.

The streak has come at a perfect time for the Nor’easters, who are the defending TCCC champions.

With the win, the Nor’easters move on the the semifinals, and will host Roger Williams on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the UNE Campus Center.

UNE (20-6) got the job done with relative ease on Tuesday, thanks to the combination of guards Carrie Bunnell and Kelley Paradis. Bunnell, a senior, scored a team-high 22 points, while Paradis, a junior, followed with 18 points.

Bunnell, who’s averaged 13 points per game this season, Paradis, averaging 16 points per game, and teammate Margo Russell, averaging 13 points per game, were recently named to the 2010-2011 All-TCCC team.

Bunnell said all three have good chemistry on the court.

“I think there is, especially as the season goes on,” Bunnell said. “You learn more about each other, and we’re just clicking.”

But Bunnell also said players on the team have been able to step up when others falter, leading to its season success.

“When we have key players who may not be having the best game, we have other players that can step up and do the job,” Bunnell said. “Anyone on our team can go out and play.”

Defense stood out for UNE in the first half, as the Nor’easters forced the Golden Bears to turn the ball over 16 times. Bunnell scored 16 of her 22 points in the half, and was particularly impression from beyond the arc, where she went 3 of 4 in 3-pointers. She would finish the game going 4 of 6 in the category.

“Usually if you hit the first or second one, it makes you feel pretty good,” Bunnell joked.

The Golden Bears, however, stayed in the contest by outrebounding UNE 20-12 in the half, with a 6-2 advantage in offensive rebounds, and headed into the locker room trailing 34-27.

The Nor’easters improved its rebounding in the second half, and Paradis, who had seven points in the first half, took over offensively, adding 11 points. Russell, Beth Suggs, Chelsey Meszaros and Kari Pelletier each scored seven points to round out the contest for UNE. Paradis, who was named the TCCC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Nor’easters with seven rebounds and four blocks on the night.

Bunnell said rebounds and getting to loose balls helped seal the win.

“I think we had two [offensive rebounds in the first half], so that was big, and getting the loose balls, the 50-50 balls, I think we did that a lot better,” Bunnell said.

Elena Radzikowski led WNEC with 16 points.

All signs seemingly point to a rematch with Salve Regina in the title game, as long as the Nor’easters can beat Roger Williams on Thursday. The Seahawks (23-3) handed the Nor’easters its only conference loss of the season on Jan. 15, beating UNE 71-63 in Newport, R.I.

“We were up by 10, 14 points down there, and we just let them go on a run, and we could never get it back” Bunnell said. “You just don’t want to go on those runs, and we’ll be set.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.