The Vitality Roses were beaten 34-28 by Australia in their final preliminary stage match.
Australia led from the off with Sophie Garbin and Georgie Horjus steering them to an 8-5 advantage but with seconds on the clock in the opening quarter, England fans were treated to the familiar sight of Paige Reed landing a six pointer to put the Vitality Roses 8-11 up.
A run of four unanswered goals for Australia saw them regain the upper hand midway through a dominant second quarter display. Elle McDonald won the ball back for the Vitality Roses in the power play but Reed's four-point effort bounced out to leave Australia three to the good at half time (18-15).
Speaking at the start of the second half, Kat Ratnapala spoke about wanting her side to take more opportunities through to goal. They managed just one point in the opening four minutes though as Australia stretched further ahead. A four pointer for Emma Thacker cut the gap to two but Garbin landed a final two points to put her side 26-22 up.
Entering the final power play, Australia led 32-26 and despite the Vitality Roses' best efforts, they couldn't swing the game in their favour.
Two preliminary stage matches remain - New Zealand vs. Jamaica and Uganda vs. South Africa - before the classification stage and medal matches with confirmation of the fixtures to follow.
