The Newcastle Falcons’ women’s team opened its 2026 NBL1 East campaign with a split double-header weekend, showing both grit and firepower at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium.
Coach Bernadette Schmidt’s side fell agonisingly short in Saturday’s season opener, edged 66-65 by the Norths Bears in a game that went down to the final possession.
They responded 24 hours later with authority, defeating the Hills Hornets 76-64 to register their first win of the year.
The narrow loss to Norths was a high-quality contest between two recent championship sides.
Newcastle built a nine-point buffer in the second quarter before momentum swung dramatically, with the Bears surging to a 10-point lead during the third term.
From there, the contest became a tense arm wrestle.
Kate Kingham put the Falcons back in front with under two minutes remaining, only for Jaz Shelley to level the scores.
Isabelle Morgan then stepped up to hit the decisive free-throw for Norths, while a last-ditch three-point attempt from Rose Bond fell short after a Newcastle time out.
Despite the result, there were strong individual performances for the Falcons.
Nicole Munger was influential with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Meg Jefferson added 18 points.
Kingham contributed 10 points and five rebounds, and Bond was active across the floor with nine rebounds and four assists.
Sunday’s clash told a different story.
Determined to change the narrative, the Falcons came out with purpose, piling on 25 points to 12 in the opening quarter and maintaining control for the remainder of the fixture.
Three-time league MVP Munger delivered a dominant performance again.
She finished with 30 points, 17 rebounds, six steals and four assists in a display that underlined her status as one of the competition’s premier players.
Kingham again played a key role with 15 points and seven assists, while Jefferson added 13 points in a balanced team effort.
The victory not only levelled the Falcons’ record after round one but also signalled their intent for the season ahead, bouncing back immediately from a heartbreaking defeat with a composed, clinical performance.
While the women spilt their results, it was a tougher opening weekend for Newcastle’s men under coach Josh Morgan.
The hosts suffered defeats to the Bears (80-70) and Hornets (78-75) respectively.
For the women, however, their start is promising.
A one-point loss to a premiership contender followed by a commanding win suggests Schmidt’s squad is already finding rhythm early in the season.
The Falcons now turn their attention to an away clash against the Sydney Comets at Comets Stadium on Saturday 11 April, where they will look to build a competitive start and make an early statement in the race for premierships glory in 2026.
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