Scotland captain Claire Maxwell celebrated winning her 100th cap as her team put up a valiant challenge against Uganda at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool.

The Scots were edged 52-43 by the sixth-ranked Ugandans, which marked a notable improvement having been beaten by 20 points by the same team at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Scotland will now head into the much tougher second round group phase of the competition, where challenges against the likes of Jamaica and South Africa await.

Maxwell told PA: “This is the first day where we have really felt frustration because we feel we are better than that, but there are lots of points from which we can be really proud.

“We feel like we showed that on our day we could beat Uganda, which is a very big thing given that they have beaten teams like England in the past and have two shooters who pretty much never miss.”

With defeat to England and a tough win over Samoa to show from their opening two Group D games, Maxwell’s team showed plenty of fight in the opening stages of the contest.

Ultimately a burst by the Ugandans towards the end of the first quarter would cost them dear, with Scotland’s improvement evident during an entire second period from which they emerged only three points worse off.

For Maxwell, the honour of winning 100 caps paled when compared to the pride she felt in leading a relatively young squad which looks in good shape to continue its recent upward trajectory.

“We are closing the gap all the time and we want to be aiming for the top six,” added Maxwell. “For me personally, winning my 100th cap in front of this crowd was a proud moment, and I want to carry on playing as long as possible.”