Singapore's netballers suffered a 39-46 defeat by Samoa in their World Cup qualification round Pool G clash on Tuesday.

The Republic, ranked 15th in the world, managed to keep pace with the 13th-ranked Samoans for much of the game, with the scores tied at 33-all after three quarters.

But the Pacific Islanders pulled away in the final quarter, thanks to some sharp-shooting from Auteletoa Tanimo, who netted all seven of her attempts, and Julianna Naoupu, who missed only one of her seven shots.

In contrast, Singapore's attackers fizzled under the hoop, with Yu Mei Ling scoring two of her five attempts and Charmaine Soh converting four of her seven shots.

Singapore, who finished 15th in the last edition in 2011, play world No. 10 Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday. Their last match in this round is against Zambia on Friday.

A top-two finish in the qualification round means they will vie for ninth to 12th spot. If not, they will play for 13th to 16th place.