That the Ferns had to wait for Uganda to beat Scotland 57-37, failing to do so by the necessary 38-goal margin, to confirm their place in the Games semis sums up just how underwhelming this campaign has been.
The Ferns now meet Australia, defending champions, in their semifinal; a daunting prospect in circumstances where belief must be all but broken.
Jamaica face unbeaten England in the other semi.
From here, the Ferns could go on to claim a hollow bronze but even that would not be cause for high fives. Not when compared with the two gold and three silver medals in this arena previously.
With backs to the wall the Ferns stand a puncher's chance of upsetting Australia. It has happened before. But given the sad state of affairs, Tom Walsh breaking the 100m world record seems just as likely.
In many respects, the warning sirens have long been sounding around the Ferns. Five wins from their past 16 games speaks to their rapid demise.
Their record nine-goal loss to England on Wednesday, the first at a major event against the English dating back to 1975, featured improvements. But when the pressure came on, they crumbled once again. It's an all-too-consistent theme under Janine Southby.
Ferns captain Katrina Grant broke down when fronting questions about whether this team has the required passion but emotion only ever gets you so far. Basic skills, decision-making at crunch times, cohesion issues from not fielding a settled side, and a lack of depth and development at the shooting end are crippling the Ferns.
Much of that rests on Southby's shoulders.
"This is really tough to take," Grant, unable to hold back tears, said. "We shouldn't have let it get to someone else deciding if we're going to make the semis but we've done this to ourselves and we just have to deal with it."
Grant and the tenacious Temalisi Fakahokotau did everything they could to inspire against England, only for many of the 11 intercepts to be squandered.
Maria Folau (30/39) worked overtime dropping long bombs but 73 per cent shooting from the Ferns was never going to be enough. Te Paea Selby-Rickit (12/19) felt the pressure and Bailey Mes' brief introduction did not have the desired impact. Elsewhere Grace Kara struggled to hit targets in the midcourt.
Perhaps of most concern is the disillusioned state they appear to find themselves in.
"It hurts a lot and the challenge is we have to get up again tomorrow," Ferns assistant coach Yvette McCausland-Durie said. "This was a really big game and you can't underestimate the levels of anxiety that comes with that but I thought they held their nerve pretty well given a lot was on the line and I thought they fought back really well. We got opportunities we just didn't convert them.
"We've been picking up for the whole two years we've been under threat. We've got a lot of new players and that's the challenge. That's the bit I'm proud of they keep getting better. I know for some people it doesn't feel like enough and we're right there wanting more from them but what I love about this group is they take self-responsibility, they are open to learning and they come back again so I'm confident they can pick up."
Now, more than ever, the Ferns need to harness every bit of that confidence.
Credibility depends on it.
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