Loyola-Chicago this year’s first bracket buster
11th-seeded Ramblers knock Miami (Fla.) out of NCAA Tournament with buzzer-beating three-pointer.
DALLAS – The 98-year-old woman waited at the corner of the basketball court as the jubilant players for Loyola-Chicago celebrated their 64-62 upset victory Thursday over Miami (Fla.).
If she weren’t restricted to a wheelchair, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt surely would have joined the fun.
Sister Jean, the longtime team chaplain, could barely contain her own glee inside American Airlines Center.
“Thank God, thank God we did it,” she said at the end of the televised broadcast. “We just knew we would do this. Our team is so great and they don’t care who makes the points as long as we win the game.
“I said we want to get the big W up there, and we did it.”
Before each game, Sister Jean, white-haired and bespectacled, leads the team in prayer. She also provides a scouting report — in person and by email.
On Thursday, before No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago played No. 6 seed Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tourna-
ment, Sister Jean advised that the Ramblers keep an eye on each of the Hurricanes because of Miami’s balanced scoring attack.
And then she cheered and prayed and prayed some more — yes, right before Donte Ingram hit the game-winning three-pointer from well beyond the top of the key with 0.3 seconds left — until the game was over and the victory sealed.
“Sister Jean is our team chaplain, and she’s our comfort blanket,” Loyola- Chicago coach Porter Moser told USA TODAY. “She just has so much spirit. She’s got an unbelievable energy level to her that I connect with.
“You know how much she’s praying for you. You know how much she’s doing for you and she means the world to this university and our team.”
When the players’ on-court celebration ended, each stopped and greeted Sister Jean and many had brief exchanges with her. The final hug came from Ingram, the game’s hero.
“Sister Jean, she has meant so much to me personally and obviously the team,” Ingram said, noting the scouting report they get from her before and after the game. “She’s just so special, her spirit. She’s just so bright, and she means so much to the city of Chicago and Loyola obviously and the team.”
Clayton Custer, who led Loyola-Chicago in scoring with 14 points, indicated Sister Jean provides something special with her pregame prayers that begins, “Good and gracious God.”
“I mean, I think her prayers definitely mean a little bit extra when she prays for us,” Custer said. “She’s huge for us, and she’s huge for our success.”
She’s depending on it. Loyola-Chicago faces No. 3 seed Tennessee on Saturday, and Sister Jean said she filled out a bracket that has LoyolaChicago advancing to the Sweet 16.
“I say, ‘Tennessee, watch out. Watch out for us,’ ” Sister Jean said.
So now that we have our first Cinderella, what makes them able to live up to Sister Jean’s expectations?
Moser is a Rick Majerus disciple who has the Ramblers spreading the floor as well as any team in the country and shooting better than 50%. Loyola’s defense also ranks top 10 nationally.
But as Sister Jean says, it’s unselfish play and chemistry that make them a serious threat to knock off Tennessee.
“Coach trusts all of us,” Ingram said after the game. “This team is special. We’ve had that laserlike focus all year. We’ve got five guys in double-digit scoring, we’re a very unselfish team.”