SOUTH BEND, Ind. _ Jewell Loyd was named a first team All-American on Monday afternoon.

In 90 seconds Monday night, the Notre Dame sophomore showed exactly why.

With the Irish trailing Baylor by two points after 11 minutes of the NCAA regional final, Loyd scored the game’s next eight points. She began with a putback of an offensive rebound, followed with a foray into the paint that came right out of Michael Jordan’s playback and resulted in a three-point play, then added a foul shot after beating Baylor All-America Odyssey Sims off the dribble and finished with a layup in the paint.

Loyd finished with 30 points and was voted the region’s most outstanding player after scoring 50 in two games.

“I was just trying to get us going and find some energy,” Loyd said. “I just took what the defense gave me.”

Loyd’s outburst kicked off a 12-0 run for a lead that would not drop below four the rest of the 88-69 victory that put the unbeaten Irish into the Final Four for the fourth straight year. They will meet the winner of Tuesday’s Maryland-Louisville game Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

“We needed every single thing that she did,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. “She wanted the ball, so we started running things for her.”

It might not be all good for the Irish. Their vocal leader, Natalie Achonwa, left the game after hurting a knee with 4 minutes, 51 seconds to play. Achonwa, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds, screamed encouragement to her teammates as she walked with a slight limp to the locker room. She was back on the floor for the trophy presentation and will have an MRI on Tuesday.

“It sucked all the air right out of the room,” McGraw said.

Loyd’s points were even more critical because the other new Irish All-American, Kayla McBride, sat for all but six of the game’s first 27:30 with foul trouble. When Baylor cut the lead to 48-44, Loyd hit a 3 that made Notre Dame feel a lot more comfortable.

“She is so big on the perimeter you would think her defense would be more of a factor,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “I thought tonight her offense was special. She did it backdoor, on the boards, off the dribble.”

And Loyd shared in the defensive effort against Sims, who had 33 points and six assists in her final Baylor game.

“Our goal was to hold her to 40,” McGraw said with a smile.

It also was expected, given the Irish home-court advantage.

That occurred because the selection process for neutral regional sites was delayed until it was decided to have them on campuses this season.

• MCT Campus