Grace Nweke's long-awaited Silver Ferns debut has turned to disappointment, with England running awy in the second half for a 55-45 victory over the reigning world champions in Christchurch.
The result means the Taini Jamison Trophy will still be up for grabs in the three-game series decider on Friday.
After their gritty win in the series opener on Monday, the Ferns had a chance to clinch the silverware and seemed well on track with a four-goal advantage late in the second quarter.
Rookie Tiana Metuarau had built on her MVP debut, developing a new attack combination with veteran Te Paea Selby-Rickit, as New Zealand led 24-21 at halftime, and the contest seemed perfectly poised for Nweke to make her first appearance in the black dress.
The teenager has seemed on the brink of Ferns stardom since her arrival in the ANZ Premiership two years ago and earned her call-up by steering Northern Mystics to their first national title this year.
But with England already clawing their way back into the contest, coach Dame Noeline Taurua did her few favours by surrounding her with an inexperienced frontcourt, namely Metuarau at goal attack and Peta Toeava at wing defence, with only two previous caps among them.
Clearly nervous, Nweke fluffed her first attempt, slotted two for a five-goal lead, but watched, as England shooter George Fisher converted four unanswered goals at the other end to swing momentum the Roses' way.
Two more three-goal outbursts within moments allowed the English to ease clear, winning the third quarter 16-10, and the final period was mainly one-way traffic, as Taurua desperately tried to find a combination that would bring her team back into contention.
Their cause wasn't helped, when Metuarau chased a loose ball over the sideline and collided with a courtside sign, suffering a leg injury that forced her to the bench. In her first international outing at goal attack, Maia Wilson's hesitancy certainly didn't help Nweke's trepidation.
Neither did the standard of feeding into the attack circle. At 1.93m, Nweke is a substantial target for passes thrown to the right spot, but too often they were too shallow or too long for her to use her size advantage, and were easily cut off by the English defence.
Between them, Nweke and Wilson shot 21/27 (78 percent) in the second half, but counterparts George Fisher and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis mustered 34/35 (97 percent) - an overwhelming advantage in both attempts and success rate.
"England really grinded throughout that whole game," admitted defender Sulu Fitzpatrick, promoted to captaincy through injury to Gina Crampton.
"They brought the energy and they felt like they were a unit - I felt we were very disjointed. I feel like we didn't look after the new ones that came onto the court.
"They managed to pull us apart and we found we don't play so well as individuals."
Fitzpatrick was proud to have Mystics teammates Nweke and Toeava out on court, but obviously regretted the occasion was bittersweet.
"I feel like we can't put the pressure on them, and need to make sure we're giving them good ball and working them into the game. It's not their fault, it's our fault - we're a collective and need to work as a team, and tonight, we didn't."
England 55 (George Fiser 45/47, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis 9/9, Eleanor Cardwell 1/4) NZ 45 (Grace Nweke 16/20, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 15/18, Tiana Metuarau 9/10, Maia Wilson 5/7)
