Sports

Sister’s prayers answered again: Loyola in the Sweet 16

Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt may really have a direct line to the Lord.

For the second straight game No. 11 Loyola-Chicago and their 98-year-old chaplain advanced on a last second miracle, stunning No. 3 Tennessee 63-62 on Clayton Custer’s jumper with five seconds remaining Saturday in a South Region second-round game in Dallas. The Ramblers are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1985.

You could say a little divine intervention helped Custer’s shot, a fall-away, pull-up for the right side, go down. The ball hit the front portion of the rim, shot up and gently went off the top of the backboard and in – as if the hand of God pushes it right through the net.

“I don’t always say this, but I got to give glory to God on that one,” Custer, who scored 10 points, told sideline reporter Ros Gold-Onwude after the game. “The ball hit the front of the rim and popped up in the air. I think that’s just all the years of hard work coming into one play. … To get that bounce on that shot, it makes all those hours in the gym worth it in the end. I can’t believe that just happened.”

After Tennessee’s Jordan Bone missed his 3-point attempt, the players celebrated and eventually made their way over to Schmidt, who was rolled onto the court in her wheelchair. Aundre Jackson led the Ramblers with 16 points.

For Schmidt the outcome was never in doubt. She picked them to advance to the Sweet 16 in her personal bracket and told them in her pregame prayer they were destined to win.

“I told them that they would win, we could do it and God would be on our side and we were going to do it today,” Schmidt told Gold-Onwude.

The victory comes two days after the Ramblers, who have won 12 straight, stunned No. 6 Miami 64-62 in the first round on a 3-pointer by Donte Ingram with 0.3 seconds remaining.

While Schmidt picked these two victories in her personal bracket, she has Loyola-Chicago losing in the Sweet 16, where it would face the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 7 Nevada and No. 2 Cincinnati.

“We have to prove Sister Jean wrong on this one,” Custer said. “Sister Jean has us going out in this round. We are going to have to prove her wrong for sure.”

Schmidt is just fine with that.

“I just hoped that they would go to the Sweet 16,” she said. “But now we may even go more than that.”