England narrowly lose to South Africa at Nations Cup
South Africa's Sanmarie Visser proved a key player for her side
- Published
England have lost to South Africa 61-59 in their second game in the Nations Cup in Nottingham.
England, ranked fourth in the world, had easily defeated Malawi in their opening game on Saturday, while South Africa, who are fifth, had run out comfortable winners over Uganda.
On Sunday, there was little between the sides in the first three quarters, which finished 14-14, 30-30 and 46-46.
But the Proteas started to pull ahead early in the final quarter and, led by player of the match Sanmarie Visser and Elmere van der Berg, built up a 58-49 advantage as England seemed to lose their way.
England did fight back late on to cut the gap but ultimately ran out of time.
In Sunday's earlier match, Malawi beat Uganda 59-45.
England will face Uganda, while South Africa will take on Malawi in the final group fixtures on Saturday 8 February at London's Copper Box Arena, before the third place play-off and final the following day.