Nothing seemed to be going according to plan in the third quarter for the Interlake Saints girls basketball team against the Mount Rainier Rams. Mount Rainier went on a 9-3 run to start the quarter, cutting Interlake’s lead to 31-29.

The Rams never got any closer.

Interlake put together a run of its own, outscoring Mount Rainier 32-14 in the final nine minutes of the contest en route to a 63-43 victory in a non-league game on Jan. 2 in Bellevue. The Saints improved their overall record to 4-3 with the win. It was the first time the Saints, who compete in the Class 2A Division, have defeated a Class 4A team during Interlake head coach Scott Marcum’s tenure as head coach.

Marcum said the key to his team’s success down the stretch against the Rams was pressure defense. The full-court press trapping style translated into a bevy of Mount Rainier turnovers.

“We have a lot of kids on this team who really love to play defense. They just love to get after it and are like sharks. Once there is a little bit of blood in the water, they’re going to jump at it,” Marcum said. “Slapping on the full-court press was really huge. Our defense is what dictates our offense at times. We showed a lot of poise. I’m just really impressed with how we withstood that run. It was a great team effort.”

Saints’ sophomore Courtney Wehner scored a career-high 24 points and senior Whitney Hoglund chipped in 16 points in the win. Marcum was impressed with the defensive performance of sophomore Amanda Melhoff.

“Amanda is really what the drives the engine of our team defensively. I can’t say enough about how well she plays defense,” he said.

Hoglund said her team displays a no-quit attitude regardless of the adversity they encounter on the floor.

“We just keep up our momentum and never let down. We always push as hard as we can to the end,” she said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com