Whitehall’s girls basketball team gave its district playoff game everything it had in its 58-33 loss to Bethlehem Catholic in a District XI Class 5A semifinal on March 1 at Catasauqua High School.

“I think tonight, in the first half of that game, we played really well,” said Whitehall coach Will Robertson. “We played some of our best basketball against a very good team, so the kids can be proud of the effort. They executed the game plan. We made shots, but Beca, they made everything.”

The difference in the first quarter was that the Zephyrs were scoring in the paint in exchange for the Hawks’ draining 3-pointers.

Whitehall guard MJ Dunbar scored the first two points of the game and later in the quarter, recovered a loose ball that resulted in a bucket for forward Jade Alvarez.

Becahi went on a 9-0 run and guard Cici Hernandez hit a 3 to end the quarter, taking a comfortable lead, 21-10.

“At halftime, we talked about doing the little things well,” said Robertson. “If you’re gonna set a screen, set a really good screen. It was loud, an atmosphere we’re not really used to, and I thought they did a really good job of communicating.”

Whitehall opened the third quarter with a basket by Bella Fonzone, but two 3s by the Hawks only widened the gap the Zephyrs were trying to narrow.

A Whitehall turnover resulted in two more points by the Hawks, but Dunbar responded by dribbling through Becahi’s defense for a layup.

Leading up to district playoffs, neither team had any competition for more than a week.

“When we first found out we weren’t playing until March 1, I think at first they looked at it like, wow, that’s a long time, but they also realized that gave us a mini preseason, and we could work on the things we weren’t doing well,” Robertson said. “We shot a ton. We were able to put a couple sets in, offensively, that Beca never saw. We had an opportunity, one day, to work with the boys, so we did things to try and mix it up. I think we managed our time well and kept things fresh for them.”

The Zephyrs will graduate captains Fonzone and Ciara Rogers.