Taking on the ladder-leading Vixens in their second straight Super Netball Reserves road-trip, the Futures began brightly with Firebirds Suncorp Super Netball regular Emily Moore joining Elsa Sif Sandholt in attack.
At halftime the Futures held a two-goal lead and were threatening to end the Vixens unbeaten start to the season.
But with Moore only available for a half after her appearance earlier in the evening in the Firebirds SSN match against the Vixens, the Futures were caught cold after the break as the hosts won the third quarter 21-12 to seize control of the contest.
Despite a tighter margin in the final term, the Futures couldn't close the gap and went down for their second defeat in three matches.
Sandholt led the way with 41 points including one Super Shot while Moore (six goals) and Kirra Tappenden (five goals) were the other scoreboard contributors in a match which also marked the return to the court of vice-captain Maddi Ridley following a year-long absence due to an ACL injury.
The Futures are back home this weekend to take on GIANTS Netball Reserve at Nissan Arena from 12pm on Sunday, May 17.