When the Whitehall girls basketball team took to the floor to begin district play Tuesday, they were hopeful that it didn’t turn into a scene from The Revenant.

In that movie, its star Leonardo DiCaprio gets mauled by a bear, leaving him on death’s doorstep. In this case, the Zephyrs didn’t want the same fate when they met a group of Bears.

The Zephs opened the District 11 4A pigtail round against Pleasant Valley High School, and the Bears were looking to pull the upset when they travel to Zephyr Gymnasium where they met sixth-seeded Whitehall in one of only a couple games that wasn’t postponed due to the snow and ice from Monday and Monday night.

The Bears entered the tourney as the 11th seed, qualifying for the postseason with an 11-11 record. In fact, Pleasant Valley finished both their league and the year at .500, going 8-8 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The two teams didn’t play each other this season, but they shared a number of common opponents as members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, with Pleasant Valley racking up a 1-11 record versus their shared foes, while Whitehall was 8-5.

The Bears were hot down the stretch, too, winning six of their final seven games.

Leading up to the game, head coach Dwight Repsher wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He knew they have components that would make them tough, including a post player who can dominate at times, and a pair of guards who can penetrate, but they’ve been up and down at times this year making them hard to figure out.

“They seem to be a pretty good team,” said Repsher. “We’re just going to play the way we’re going to play.”

That way has served the Zephs well this season as they finished 14-9 this year. The Zephs have built a team that shares the ball which has been underscored by their interior passing. They’re also a veteran team who now had back-to-back district appearances, and that should also benefit them.

Seniors Ivanna Jones, Taylor George, Jillian Kreglow and Jill Rex form the foundation and will be instrumental in their advancement during the D-11 tourney.

George was recently named to the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference all-star second team. The senior guard has now scored 852 points in her illustrious career and can build on that even more if they make a deep run.

Repsher said that their ability to advance lands squarely on their shoulders. If they play well, the game will take care of itself. They’ve played David to a number of Goliaths this season, and if they can get that same effort against the Pleasant Valley, the Bears will be the ones licking their wounds.

Still, the Bears were expected to pose a problem, especially if the guards could convert from the outside as well as penetrate. Renee Milos can also be a force inside, both rebounding and scoring, as she’s averaging 9 pp. this season.

“I think they’re more than capable of playing a good game,” said Repsher before the game. “We have to keep the game from [Milos] and can’t let the guards penetrate.”

He said they have a little bit of everything and it just comes down to how well his own team plays which will ultimately decide the outcome, as well as future outcomes in the district playoffs.

“At this point, there’s not a lot of secrets,” Repsher said who has watched the Bears three times this season. “Their fairly balanced. We’ll see what happens.”