Sarah Anderegg was the only one on her team who could understand the shouts, the yelling, the defensive calls of the opposing team.

Her mother, half-Norwegian, had taught her daughter how to understand the country’s numbering system. It had never come in more handy than when Anderegg’s Interlake basketball team hosted Asker of Norway on Dec. 31 in a friendly game that turned in a surprising finish.

It’s no surprise she heard yells of “tretti tre, tretti tre”, her number 33, for the majority of the game as the team from Norway yelled out her number each time she touched the ball. And with Interlake trailing 45-43 with 5.8 seconds remaining, Anderegg heard the call again as she deftly made a put-back lay in to tie the game at 45 while being fouled, then stepped to the line and sunk the free throw to give Interlake a 46-45 victory.

Who else would score the game winner but the only player of Norwegian descent on the Saints?

“It was pretty special for her to hit that shot, to win the game for us,” said Interlake coach Scott Marcum. “It was just an exciting win.”

Anderegg, who scored 22 points in the game to lead all scorers, was the only player who could understand the defensive calls of the Asker team, and used that knowledge for a bit of an edge against the Norway defense.

“I knew what they were saying so I knew who they were guarding,” Anderegg said. “It was a cool experience.”

It was a rough start for the Saints (8-1, 0-1 KingCo 3A/2A), as Asker jumped out to a 21-12 first quarter lead before Interlake was able to settle down and outscore the Norwegian team 15-6 in the second quarter.

“It was a lot different, a lot different,” Marcum said. “They were physical and obviously, they moved a little different than some of the American teams do. But our kids battled and they clamped down for the rest of the game.”

Marcum said one reason his players had difficulty guarding the Asker players were the different uniforms the Norwegian team was wearing.

“Trying to find their numbers on the uniforms was difficult and our kids had a hard time trying to find who they were guarding,” he said. “We lost the person we were guarding many times because of that. And when they are yelling out names in a foreign language, it messes with you.”

Junior guard Letia Ngauamo scored 14 points in her third game back from a series of injuries that had forced her to miss her entire sophomore season.

“I’ve never had a kid that is able to spark the entire student body like she does,” Marcum said. “She just has a talent level higher than any other guard I’ve had; she does things other kids just can’t do.”

Asker was led by Edda Torsdottir Ulset and Sigrid Feyling Skorpen with 13 points apiece.Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045 or at jwillits@bellevuereporter.com.

Anderegg uses heritage

to help defeat Norway team

Sarah Anderegg was the only one on her team who could understand the shouts, the yelling, the defensive calls of the opposing team.

Her mother, half-Norwegian, had taught her daughter how to understand the country’s numbering system. It had never come in more handy than when Anderegg’s Interlake basketball team hosted Asker of Norway on Dec. 31 in a friendly game that turned in a surprising finish.

It’s no surprise she heard yells of “tretti tre, tretti tre”, her number 33, for the majority of the game as the team from Norway yelled out her number each time she touched the ball. And with Interlake trailing 45-43 with 5.8 seconds remaining, Anderegg heard the call again as she deftly made a put-back lay in to tie the game at 45 while being fouled, then stepped to the line and sunk the free throw to give Interlake a 46-45 victory.

Who else would score the game winner but the only player of Norwegian descent on the Saints?

“It was pretty special for her to hit that shot, to win the game for us,” said Interlake coach Scott Marcum. “It was just an exciting win.”

Anderegg, who scored 22 points in the game to lead all scorers, was the only player who could understand the defensive calls of the Asker team, and used that knowledge for a bit of an edge against the Norway defense.

“I knew what they were saying so I knew who they were guarding,” Anderegg said. “It was a cool experience.”

It was a rough start for the Saints (8-1, 0-1 KingCo 3A/2A), as Asker jumped out to a 21-12 first quarter lead before Interlake was able to settle down and outscore the Norwegian team 15-6 in the second quarter.

“It was a lot different, a lot different,” Marcum said. “They were physical and obviously, they moved a little different than some of the American teams do. But our kids battled and they clamped down for the rest of the game.”

Marcum said one reason his players had difficulty guarding the Asker players were the different uniforms the Norwegian team was wearing.

“Trying to find their numbers on the uniforms was difficult and our kids had a hard time trying to find who they were guarding,” he said. “We lost the person we were guarding many times because of that. And when they are yelling out names in a foreign language, it messes with you.”

Junior guard Letia Ngauamo scored 14 points in her third game back from a series of injuries that had forced her to miss her entire sophomore season.

“I’ve never had a kid that is able to spark the entire student body like she does,” Marcum said. “She just has a talent level higher than any other guard I’ve had; she does things other kids just can’t do.”

Asker was led by Edda Torsdottir Ulset and Sigrid Feyling Skorpen with 13 points apiece.Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045 or at jwillits@bellevuereporter.com.