East Spotlight | Falcons hold out Sharks for fifth straight

Featured image: @Damianclarkshoots

The Sutherland Sharks without Lauren Nicholson fired back from a 16-point deficit to hit the lead in the fourth quarter but Nicole Munger sealed the win with the last four points for the Newcastle Falcons to prevail 79-75.

It was a clash of two in-form teams at Sutherland Basketball Stadium on Saturday with the Sharks having won three of four games so far in 2026, and the Falcons four of five including the past four in-a-row.

That set the stage nicely but it was always going to be tough even at home for Sutherland without Nicholson and that proved the case with Newcastle going up by 16 in the second quarter, and leading 47-31 at the half.

The Sharks fired back to briefly grab the lead in the fourth quarter before a 9-0 Newcastle run.

But again Sutherland responded to tie scores up late before Munger sealed the win for the Falcons with the last four points and they won by those four to improve to 5-1 with the five consecutive wins.

>> EAST WRAP | WOMEN'S ANZAC ROUND

The Falcons were pushed all the way by the Sharks but their big guns delivered in the end with Nicole Munger not too far off another triple double with 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists on just the nine shot attempts of which she made five.

Kate Kingham top-scored with 23 points with five rebounds while going 5/10 from beyond the arc with Meg Jefferson adding 18 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, and Rose Bond eight points and three rebounds.

The Sharks battled valiantly in the absence of superstar Lauren Nicholson with Abi Curtin finishing with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists on 9/14 field goal shooting.

Maddy Norris added 23 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists on 11/16 shooting with Ella Dent delivering 12 points, seven boards, five steals and three assists, and Aliza Fabbro nine points, two rebounds and two assists.

Emily Garland also was +12 in her 22 minutes with five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Both teams came into the match up having lost just once so far in 2026 and it was a tight first quarter with the Falcons ending up leading by four by the end of it thanks to a combined 15 points from Kate Kingham and Nicole Munger.

Newcastle then pulled away during the second frame and put up 28 points to 16 with 11/21 shooting from the field and 6/9 from downtown to go into the half-time interval in control at 47-31.

Kingham and Munger continued to be doing the damage for the Falcons combining for 26 points while Maddy Norris was trying to keep Sutherland in the contest with 13 points of her own.

The Sharks then climbed right back into the contest with a dominant third quarter with 22 points to nine with the Falcons struggling by shooting 2/23 from the field and having five turnovers across the five minutes.

That meant Newcastle were just clinging to a three-point lead at three quarter-time and Sutherland kept the momentum going to grab the lead with an Ella Dent three-pointer with eight minutes to go.

Newcastle responded and managed to open up a nine-point lead once more only for Sutherland to answer once more and it was triples from Dent and Abi Curtin inside the final two minutes to see scores level once more with a minute to play.

But the Sharks wouldn’t score again with the Falcons scoring the last four points all thanks to Munger with the first two at the foul line and then with a jumper to secure the win and for them to improve to 5-1 with five straight wins.

Newcastle will back up to play at home on Sunday against the Inner West Bulls with the Sharks back at home next Saturday against the Canberra Nationals.

NBL1 EAST 2026 SEASON | ROUND 5

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 75 (Curtin 24, Norris 23, Dent 12)

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 79 (Kingham 23, Jefferson 18, Munger 16)