NICOLE Munger is the best player in the NBL1 East women's competition and the American is on a mission to lead her adopted home, Newcastle, to a championship.
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In a major boost, Munger has committed for a third season with the Newcastle Falcons in 2024.
Currently in her second WNBL campaign with Canberra Capitals, Munger has led the Falcons to the NBL1 East play-offs the past two years and is determined to take them deeper into the post-season.
A graduate of the University of Michigan and former team captain, Munger can dominate from the perimeter or in the paint and will be the player new coach Kristy Bultitude builds her team around.
"The last two years, we set ourselves up in the regular season to get a home play-off," Munger said. "We want to get past that first round of the play-offs and work towards winning the championship. That is definitely a goal
"The city of Newcastle is now a home to me, and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to be a Falcon again."
"Everyone in the organisation makes me feel like I am home. That is really special about Newcastle.
"We want all our local talent to play. I think we will be really successful with them. We are building a really good fan base. People are starting to realise it is really fun to watch the women."
The 26-year-old all-court powerhouse averaged 19.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, four assists and 2.2 steals a game for the Falcons in 2023, earning NBL1 East MVP honours and All-Star Five selection.
Not surprisingly, Munger was judged Newcastle's MVP and Players' Player, and was also named Newcastle Falcons Club Person of the Year in recognition of her extra-curricular activities including coaching the Under-16 girls and her overall contributions to our girls' development programs.
"Newcastle needs to get excited about the return of Nicole Munger," said Bultitude, who has worked with her as Falcons assistant coach for the past two years
"It's fantastic to see Nicole back in Newcastle for our 2024 season. She brings that special spark you want as a coach, and I'm excited to build on our connection in the upcoming months.
"Nicole is more than an athlete on our team - she's the whole package. She's an inspiration to our juniors, she contributes in a variety of ways across the club and she's a natural leader. Our female junior program is very lucky to have Nicole around to look up to."
Arriving from Spain midway through 2022, Munger averaged 25.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.0 steals a game in 12 appearances, picking up two NBL1 East Player of the Week awards.
Munger has averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists a game in eight appearances for the Capitals this WNBL season.
