Falcons soar past No.1 seed Albury to secure home semi-final

The Newcastle Falcons are a step closer to a maiden NBL1 East championship after ending Albury's unbeaten 20-game run with a 96-84 victory in the qualifying final in Albury on Saturday night.

The Falcons, who finished the regular season in fourth spot with a 16-4 win-loss record, progressed to semi-final and will play the winner of the elimination match between Manly and Central coast.

The semi-final will be in Newcastle.

Norths beat Manly 71-68 in the other qualifying final.

It is the first time in three seasons the Falcons have made it through the first week of the play-offs.

"It was a very good performance," Bultitude said.

"The win will add confidence to their inner belief that they can do it as a group.

"We get to continue the journey. We will work hard for the next two weeks. We have done the hard yards, now we get a shot at making the grand final.'

An under strength Falcons were thrashed 98-66 by a Lauren Jackson-inspired Albury in June.

Jackson is in Paris with the Opals for the Olympics and the home side couldn't match the cross-court firepower of the visitors.

The Falcons took control in the second quarter and led 46-39 at half-time and 67-56 at three-quarter time.

The home side went on a 12-2 midway through the final term to level at 78-78 with 3:42 remaining.

"We knew they would come at us late," Bultitude said. "It was a matter of sticking together through it.

"The girls are resilient and tough. The connection they have really shone through."

Import Nicole Munger led the way for the Falcons with 28, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Isla Juffermans had 14 and seven rebounds while fellow starts Hannah Chicken (12 points) and Oni Nichols (11 points and seven rebounds) were in double figures.

The difference was the contribution of the bench. Elissa Brett knocked down 16 points and Sophie Brennan added eight. The Bandits had only two points from the bench.

"You need multiple scoring options across the different aspects of your team," Bultitude said.