The Proteas‚ a day after beating England 48-45 in a Quad Series match in London‚ forced New Zealand into extra time and then golden goals before going down 62-60.
SA were down 9-14 after the first quarter‚ but then won the second and third quarters before tying 45-45 in regulation time.
The Proteas were ahead 50-49 after the first session of extra time‚ which ended 56-56.
This is the best SA have performed against New Zealand since beating them at the 1995 World Cup.