East Finals | Munger fires to keep Falcons alive

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Nicole Munger just missed a triple double but had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Newcastle Falcons in their 69-61 home NBL1 East elimination final win against the Hills Hornets.

The Falcons ended the regular season in sixth position with a 13-7 record while the Hornets ended up seventh at 11-9 with both teams putting their seasons on the line at Newcastle Basketball Stadium.

Newcastle shot out of the blocks on their home floor going on an 11-0 run and then were still leading 20-14 by the end of the first quarter with Munger already having nine points, four rebounds and four assists while the Falcons were shooting 53 per cent to the 29 from the Hornets.

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Hills fired back in the second frame and outscored Newcastle 22 points to 14 and that saw the Hornets leading 36-34 by half-time having shot 9/17 for the quarter to be leading largely thanks to their seven offensive rebounds and forcing the Falcons into 10 turnovers for the half.

Despite Munger having the 15 points, six rebounds and six assists, her team went into half-time trailing by two but they turned things around with 26 points to 16 in the third term including scoring 13 straight points to lead by as much as 12.

The two teams then only combined for 18 points in the last quarter with nine each and that saw Newcastle prevail by eight to keep their season alive and set up a semi-final battle with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next Sunday.

Munger was ultimately the major difference between the two teams with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists with 10/17 field goal shooting along with 3/6 from the outside and 2/3 from the foul line.

Meg Jefferson added 17 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two steals, Kate Kingham 16 points with 4/8 shooting from the outside, and Mia Heide five points, six rebounds and four assists.

The season is now over for the Hornets as they reached double-figure wins in an NBL1 East season for the first time in 2026 with Jade Kirisome finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Piper Anderson also had 16 points for Hills with Angela Tako contributing eight points, two rebounds and two assists, Kennedy Johnson seven points, and Ella Gale seven points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

NBL1 EAST 2026 SEASON | ELIMINATION FINAL

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 69 (Munger 25, Jefferson 17, Kingham 16)

HILLS HORNETS 61 (Kirisome 16, Anderson 16, Tako 8)