Donte Ingram was the hero for Loyola Chicago in the Ramblers’ NCAA Tournament win over Miami on Thursday. But their 98-year-old team chaplain was the real hit.
Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt leads the Ramblers in prayer before their games and was present in Dallas for the NCAA Tournament game against Miami. She led the team in prayer and her hopes came true. Sister Jean was even interviewed by truTV after the game:
Loyola's 98-year-old chaplain is the real MVP. pic.twitter.com/vPP3E4tOKv
— Josh Planos (@JPlanos) March 15, 2018
“We asked God to help us, and I told God we would do our part if He would do His part. And I hoped the referees would call the right kind of a game, that nobody would get injured, that we would play with confidence and we know we would win the game,” she said. “And when the buzzer rang, we wanted to be sure the score said that we had the big W.”
According to a New York Times profile on Sister Jean, she had only missed two of the team’s home games since 1994 prior to breaking her hip in November. That put her in a wheelchair and made it tougher for her to make the games, but she’s still managed to keep up with the team, and obviously she made the trip to Dallas. They wouldn’t have had it any other way.
