Newcastle Falcons men and women beat Sydney Comets in NBL1 East: Round 8, 2023

In the women's game later on Saturday night, Abi Curtin, Kate Kingham, Mykea Gray and Emily Foy covered Nicole Munger's foul trouble to help Newcastle upset the Comets 86-70 to make it a memorable winning double for the Falcons.

Five players scored in double figures in the men's match as Newcastle snapped a two-game losing skid, improved their win-loss record to 4-3 and handed Sydney (5-2) only their second loss this year.

Newcastle led 24-12 at quarter-time but, unlike the previous week when they squandered an early advantage against Hills Hornets, the Falcons went on with the job against Comets, leading 52-36 at half-time and 71-53 at the last break.

Falcons coach Peter Astley asked for more leadership and his senior players delivered, lifting their defensive intensity and rewarding their hustle and hunger with points at the other end.

"I was more direct and they responded as a team," Astley said.

"We spoke a lot through the week about what attitude to bring, not just to games but to training and the way we carry ourselves, because with a positive attitude and the right behaviours, win or lose, you come away from a game knowing you applied yourself in an appropriate manner.

"We all did the simple things well and our lulls and our quiet periods were only fairly short and we recovered quickly from those and got back on with it."

Big man Myles Cherry gained confidence from some early touches in the paint and went on to post a game-high 21 points at 64 per cent shooting, adding nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals.

Wing Ryan Beisty was a menace all over the floor, compiling 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks, and point guard Jaidyn Goodwin was equally effective, hitting three triples in his tally of 15 points and adding eight assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Guards Tom Akamarmoi (15 points) and Jakob Dorricott (11) added scoring punch off the bench, making baskets and some smart defensive plays at critical times of the contest.

After a couple of cold shooting nights against Hills and Maitland in their past two losses, the Falcons shot 47 per cent from the field and 75 per cent from the free-throw line.

"Sydney were a one-loss team at the top of the table going into this game and we did what we wanted to do in putting together a plan and going out and executing it," Astley said.

"Their strengths are their athleticism, running, transition, getting to the rim, but we took away their strengths and made them shoot it from outside. If they made their shots and beat us doing that, we could live with that, but we executed our plan and we're happy with that."

Curtin had 18 of her team-high 20 points by half-time of the women's game, including two from two from three-point range, and added nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Kingham tallied 16 points, two rebounds and two assists, Gray amassed 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, Foy chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Munger, restricted to 24 minutes on the floor, still contributed 13 points, five boards, three assists and three steals.

WNBL championship-winner Shyla Heal had 28 points for the Comets but the Falcons restricted NBL1 East leading scorer Vanessa Panousis to 16 points - 14 below her season average.

"We didn't think we could stop both of them but we had to stop one of them," said Falcons assistant coach Kristy Bultitude, who was again deputising for Martin McLean.

"It's a huge win for us. We had to play well as a team to beat a team like them.

"We talked in the pre-game about locking in, that we're all one, and everyone stepped up - and with Nicole in foul trouble everyone had to.

"It was Abi's best game for us, Mykea's best game, we got open looks and we made them, and even though the foul count was against us (25-16), we didn't drop our heads and we played through it."

Munger collected her third foul early in the second quarter, with the scores tied 23-23, and sat out until half-time. She returned for the start of the third period but picked up her fourth foul just three minutes into the quarter and again headed for the bench, not returning until early in the fourth.

Despite that setback, the Falcons led 39-35 after a see-sawing first half, then 61-58 heading into the final term, and they held their nerve down the stretch. The win meant Newcastle (6-1) leap-frogged Sydney (6-2) to move to third on the ladder.

The Falcons will be back at home next Saturday for their annual Reunion Night, welcoming Inner West Bulls at 5pm (men) and 7:15pm (women).

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