Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw has a few words for Lindsay Allen Saturday.

SOUTH BEND – The final stat sheet will show that Natalie Achonwa and Lindsay Allen led Notre Dame in assists with six apiece on Saturday.

Irish coach Muffet McGraw says that the biggest one of the day, however, came from its’ home crowd.

McGraw was quick to praise the boisterous sea of green that supported the Irish during an 89-72 women’s basketball romp past Oklahoma State in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

The undefeated, top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Irish, fueled by a loud and proud sellout crowd of 8,774 in Purcell Pavilion, rolled to a 14-0 lead to open the game and never looked back.

“The crowd set the tone today,” said McGraw in her opening remarks in the post game press conference following the dominating win by her 35-0 team. “It was great to come out there and look up to see a sea of green and feel the electricity here today.

“What a terrific atmosphere. I thought that the roof might come off the crowd was so loud at times today.”

Kayla McBride looks for room to operate for the Irish.

Achnonwa turned in a stellar performance with a game-high 23 points. The 6-3 senior center hit 10-13 shots from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots.

Sophomore star guard Jewell Loyd had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Irish. Senior standout guard Kayla McBride finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for Notre Dame.

The Irish have now won 27 in a row at home and 53 of their last 55. The 27 straight home wins are the second longest active streak in the country and also the second longest in program history.

Notre Dame meets No. 5 Baylor (32-4) at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the regional final and a berth in the Final Four in Nashville. The Bears, who beat Kentucky 90-72 in Saturday’s first semifinal, are the last team to beat the Irish at home. Baylor defeated Notre Dame 73-61 on Dec. 5, 2012. The Bears, who are 4-0 all-time versus Notre Dame, also topped the Irish 80-61 in the national championship game in 2012.

The Irish, who have advanced to the Final Four the last three years, were simply dominant from the opening tip in their first-ever meeting with the fifth-seeded and No. 21 Cowgirls. Achonwa, running the floor and scoring in transition at will, scored the first two buckets on a layup and a rebound outback. The Irish were up 9-0 before Oklahoma State took a timeout just 2:05 into the game. The hosts went up 14-0 on a three-point play by Achonwa before Oklahoma State finally scored at the 16:19 mark on a trey by senior guard Tiffany Bias.

“We were so ready to go and had the energy to protect our home court,” said Achonwa. “It was full steam ahead. I just wanted to bring energy. Our guards did a great job finding me early in the game and with the focus on two great players like Jewell and Kayla, it’s easy for me to score.”

Jewell Loyd was outstanding with a double-double for the undefeated Irish Saturday.

Oklahoma State, which finishes at 25-9, did make one small 7-0 run to get within 24-14 midway through the opening half. McGraw quickly called timeout and the Irish went on a 12-6 run, capped by a trey from McBride, to seize control.

The Irish led 49-35 at halftime thanks to 15 points from Achonwa and 14 from Loyd. The hosts were 20-36 from the field in the opening half.

“Getting out to the big lead early on was key for us,” McGraw said. “I thought that early on the crowd got to them (Oklahoma State). Natalie had a fabulous game. She was so determined. She was the best player on the floor today.”

“Our guards are so unselfish. The game plan was to go inside today and I was glad to see us do that so well.”

Madison Cable reacts after scoring a bucket for the Irish.

Notre Dame put it on cruise control in the final half to notch the win. The Irish out rebounded the Cowgirls 46-36 and had a 42-34 edge in points in the paint.

Oklahoma State, which had won at Purdue Monday, shot 29-71 from the field. Bias, who had injured her ankle in the win at Purdue, led her team with 17 points and 11 assists. LaShawn Jones had 16 points and Brittany Atkins 13.

“We got beat by a better team today,” said Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell. “Obviously, they are very deserving of their ranking. They have every piece to the puzzle. They have athletes, shooters and post players who can score. It’s so tough to guard them. They can beat you in so many different ways.

“I don’t know if we were in awe or not,  but we were a step behind in everything that first five to six minutes. If you are a little tense or a little awestruck, it slows you down. But, I thought we played them pretty even after that. We’ll take from this a learning experience.”

Baylor, which beat conference foe Oklahoma State three times this season, ran away from Kentucky. The Bears led 49-32 at halftime Saturday as the Wildcats shot just 9-36 from the field.

Baylor senior guard Odyssey Sims, shook off a slow start, to score 25 points. The nation’s second-leading scorer also had seven assists. Freshman Nina Davis had 20 points for Baylor.

Kentucky, which finishes at 26-9, had beaten Baylor 133-130 in four overtimes back in December in the highest scoring women’s college game ever. Sims scored 47 points in that loss before fouling out in the first overtime period. Kentucky junior guard Jennifer O’Neill scored 43 points in the first meeting. O’Neill had eight points Saturday and shot 0-12 from the field for the Wildcats in the rematch.

Achonwa says the Irish will be focused come Monday night.

“For us, the focus will be on us and what we need to do Monday,” said Achonwa. “We’re really excited to play them again. We get to play another one at home and will have the same fan support.”

One that will be ready to offer up another assist to the Irish for sure.

Natalie Achonwa gets some coaching from Muffet McGraw Saturday. Achonwa led the No. 2 Irish past Oklahoma State in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament in South Bend.