Australia have beaten England 99-55 in the women's basketball final to claim the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

England had stunned Canada on Friday to reach the gold-medal match, but they fell comfortably short of another upset as pre-tournament favourites Australia cantered to the title.

It looked as though England may be able to threaten another unlikely result when they matched the hosts in the opening exchanges, even taking the lead at one stage in the first quarter.

However, Australia didn't take long to showcase their superiority, with star player Elizabeth Cambage scoring almost at will as the Opals began to take the match away from England.

The contest was ill-tempered at times, though, and England's hopes of shock would have grown slightly again when Cambage was ejected for an unsportsmanlike foul and a technical foul - much to the chagrin of a vocal crowd in the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The loss of their most high-profile player barely seemed to register with the hosts, though, and they continued to pull clear of England before going into half time with a 49-31 lead.

That advantage extended further still in the second half as Australia continued to post a much better shot-success ratio than England.

Kelsey Griffin and Kayla George ended the match as the highest scorers with 16 points apiece, while Belinda Snell contributed nine on her final appearance for her country.

The final score of 99-55 was not quite as emphatic as the 118-55 victory Australia enjoyed over England in the group stages - and was indeed the only match of the competition in which Australia failed to reach triple figures - but they still sealed their place atop the podium with minimal fuss.

Australia also won gold the only previous time basketball has been held at the Commonwealths in 2006, where England won the bronze.

New Zealand were the bronze medal winners on this occasion, completing the podium with victory over Canada earlier in the day.