A youthful England side held on for a dramatic 55-54 victory over New Zealand in the opening game of the Taini Jamison Trophy.
Player of the match Sasha Glasgow scored 38 from 41 attempts on her England debut.
She was one of four debutants in a Roses team led by technical coach Liana Leota who took on the world’s number-two ranked side in Christchurch.
“I’m so proud of us,” said England captain Halimat Adio on Sky Sports.
“We put everything that we’ve been doing in training on court. We looked very connected in general and I’m just very happy.”
In a tight contest England dominated the second quarter before resisting late pressure.
The match was the first in a three-match series against New Zealand.
None of the Roses squad that took part in the historic World Cup win in Cape Town featured as players and staff take a break.
England head coach Jess Thirlby is present for the series but is playing a peripheral role in support of Leota.
The next game in the series will be on 27 September in Porirua.