Southern Section Basketball Playoffs : 4-AA Girls : Valencia Downs Downey, 66-50, to Reach Semifinals

Valencia High School appears ready to make a run at the 4-AA Southern Section girls’ basketball title.

On Thursday, the Tigers rolled past Downey, 66-50, in a quarterfinal playoff game at Valencia. Forward Candy Anderson scored 18 points and center Kristen McDonald added 17 for Valencia (18-9).

“This is as good of a game as we have played all year long,” Valencia Coach Debi Woelke said. “Our kids played extremely hard and the effort really showed tonight.”

The victory advances Valencia (18-9) to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will face Mission Viejo, a 60-59 winner over North Torrance Thursday. Downey, which tied for second place in the San Gabriel Valley League, ends its season 20-7.

Downey, which trailed, 37-26, at the half, was hurt by the loss of senior forward Pam Crampton, who had to leave the game midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury. Crampton, who had been averaging more than 18 points, returned in the fourth quarter and finished with nine points.

Valencia went on an 8-1 run early in the fourth quarter to take a 56-37 lead and put the game out of reach.

Guard Shannon Hawkins had 14 points and teammate Cathrine Finck added 12 for Downey.