American imports Nicole Munger and Oni Nichols are set for increased minutes as the Newcastle Falcons carry a depleted bench into their NBL 1 East women's clash with Penrith on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wtih some of Newcastle's younger players away for rep or Youth League duties, the Falcons' bench will be a little shorter against the Panthers at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre.
"We are a little bit short on the rotations, but I think we can still be positive in what we can get out of the game," Falcons coach Kristy Bultitude said.
"It will just mean longer minutes for the likes of Nicole and Oni.
"We're going in at eight, two under a normal travelling bench.
"The goal, across the season, is to keep Nicole and Oni sitting around that 27 to 28 minutes [per game]... but it just means they're going to have to run a little longer this week."
The Falcons are unbeaten after five games this season and sit second on the ladder, equal on points with leaders Albury-Wodonga.
Penrith are yet to notch a win in 2024 after four fixtures, but Bultitude said that made them an opponent the Falcons could not underestimate.
She likened them to Hornsby, the second-last placed side that the Falcons beat last weekend.
"It's a good start, but we can't go in with false pretences," she said.
"You've just got to respect everyone. It could have been [a danger game] with Hornsby too, but that's what we do in our scout - we go in and say: 'you've got to respect everyone, they could come out and fire'.
"We go in with any-team-can-beat-anyone attitude."
Meanwhile, the Falcons will be hoping to build on their first win of the NBL 1 East men's season last week in a corresponding fixture.
The women play at 5.30pm, followed by the men's match at 7.30pm.