Final Four: Sister Jean and Loyola-Chicago run out of tourney magic
Loyola-Chicago's Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt watches as players warm up before the game against Michigan in the Final Four. Credit: AP / Eric Gay
SAN ANTONIO — The official end of the miracle, if not the game, came with 1:39 on the clock. That’s when a crew brought the wheelchair that had been Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt’s throne the past few weeks down to the concourse in front of the stands, where she watched from near the tunnel.
Loyola, which had led by 10 in the second half, now trailed by eight. Not even the smile of the 98-year-old nun who had become the mascot of Loyola- Chicago — and, for much of March, the face of college basketball — was going to change the eventual result.
In a few seconds, Michigan would win the national semifinal at the Alamodome, 69-57, and head to Monday night’s championship game. Sister Jean and the Ramblers would head home to Chicago — another Cinderella story not saved by Prince Charming, or even long jump shots.
On the way to the locker room, the players stopped for a hug with Sister Jean. But this time it was different. The 14-game winning streak, longest in the nation, was finished.
Still, she was her charming, upbeat self.
“She told us we had a great season,” said the Ramblers’ Aundre Jackson. “She said she was happy to be on this run with us. To keep our heads high, and she was happy with what we accomplished.”
Which was considerable. Loyola, a mid-major, was here the final weekend with Michigan, Kansas and Villanova and finished with the best record in school history at 32-5.
The victories, however, were only part of the story. Sister Jean was the other part, the main part. She endeared herself to America, to basketball fans, maybe most of all to non-fans who watched TV or read newspapers after hearing about this lady who seemed to enjoy herself as much as the players.
There she was Friday, surrounded by dozens of media, in her exclusive interview. She predicted Loyola would win, but of course. What others predicted was that Loyola, reltively unheralded outside of the Midwest, would have a heroine who gave a new meaning to sportsmanship.
Fans in the Loyola section held up signs extolling the virtues of Sister Jean and their team. One read “Cinderella Cleaning Svc.” It was fun while it lasted, as are all underdog stories.
But Michigan wasn’t concerned with underdogs or fairy tales. It swarmed Loyola, which at one stretch had a turnover on five straight possessions.
“They are a really good defensive team,” Loyola guard Marques Townes said, confirming what was apparent, “and we had an emphasis to try and take care of the ball. They sped us up and we had a couple of turnovers . . . I feel if we had taken care of the ball better, we could have converted a couple more baskets and stopped the bleeding.”
But they couldn’t: Loyola had 17 turnovers to 11 for Michigan.
The Wolverines were the better team.
Loyola and Sister Jean were the better story.