A side including highly rated performers such as Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite could not find the collective magic.
The 61-year-old Carter, coach for the past two-and-a-half years, played up the positive aspects.
He did not think the possible departure veterans such as Katey Martin would further hurt the team.
"I personally think far from it," said Carter, an Englishman who played for Canterbury.
"We all grow older every team, the team will evolve and we've brought in a number of new players. We still have existing senior players…"
But he admitted: "We're all disappointed. We'd love to experience what we experienced yesterday (victory over Pakistan) a couple more times.
"We didn't make the semifinals - that hurts pretty much."
Carter said he hoped his experience with the team, the knowledge he gained, would bring benefits to the women's game as he resumes his high performance role.
"Great strides" had been made bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket, and the country had a very good T20 competition.
Carter dismissed a suggestion that the resource gap crippled New Zealand's chances against overseas heavyweights, saying the Kiwi men had shown what was possible.
"We had a great game plan at times like yesterday when we came up with a game plan we executed very well," he said.
"I would have liked Sophie (Devine) not to get injured when she was batting superbly in the Auckland game, and Lea Tahuhu not to have done a hamstring.
"We are moving ahead. If it hadn't been for two or three results (including) that incredible game against England, we'd be looking forward to a semifinal. I think we're still close but there's been no joy."
Carter said he had a "great time" as White Ferns coach.
"They are a great bunch to work with. It's not really about me," he said.
"It's about what we were trying to achieve over that period of time with the White Ferns."
