THE
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EDITION
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2024
VOL. 107, ISSUE 24
Banged-up Salukis showing resilience heading into postseason Ryan Grieser rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com
Adrianna Katcher (24) and Sydney Prochaska (3) hug after the SIU vs. Bradley matchup March 2, 2024 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois. Enan Chediak | echediak@dailyegyptian.com
The SIU women’s basketball team isn’t going to let their season end without a fight. “The biggest thing I want them to do is compete,” head coach Kelly-Bond-White said. “When we walk into that locker room, our gas tank should be on E.” The Salukis, who have been bitten hard by the injury bug, are limping into Hoops in the Heartland, the Missouri Valley Conference’s conference tournament for women’s basketball. Several players are nursing injuries, while at least one has been lost for the remainder of the year. “We’ve had two surgeries this week, and a docket of a couple more later on. It’s just part of the game, the adversity that you hit,” Bond-White said. These injuries have forced the coaching staff to have to constantly integrate different pieces into the rotation on a nightly basis and have led to many different lineups being on the
floor this year. The Salukis have had 14 unique starting lineups in 27 games, and 10 different players have started games. Bond-White isn’t deterred by the challenges posed by injuries, saying, “as long as I’ve got seven, we can make something happen.” Upperclassmen Quierra Love and Laniah Randle are the only players to start every game this season. While it may be easy to blame some of the struggles on a revolving door of lineups, Love refuses to do so. “We all play together in practice, we switch it up, so we get some time with each other in different rotations, different lineups. We just have a great team where everyone is ready to step up at any given time,” Love said. Despite several losses and a seemingly ever-growing injury report, Bond-White’s team has still competed hard in their last few games, including taking the fourth-place team in the Valley, Illinois State, into overtime. One sign that they aren’t giving
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How landlord Loretta Cooley went from mobile homes to multimillion dollar success Carly Gist | cgist@dailyegyptian.com
Wedgewood Hills Apartments is the product of decades of hard work and overcoming adversity. Starting with a trailer court, Loretta Cooley made her dream come true one fateful day in 1985. “It [opening day] was different,” Cooley said. “I had, I think, 24 used mobile homes is all I had for equity. And I flew to Elkhart, Indiana and bought 26 brand new ones…It was kind of [a] thrill for the new ones to come in and set
them up and everything.” Over the next ten years, Wedgewood Apartments was born at 1101 East Park Street. Today, the main office is painted blue (Cooley’s favorite color) and the interior is cozy, making guests feel welcome even before they are officially at home. “I think our key to the success is we care about our tenants…When you move into an apartment here it’s going to be perfect. People
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Loretta Cooley, owner of Wedgewood Hills, sits behind her desk in her office Feb. 28, 2024 at 1001 E Park St. in Carbondale, Illinois. Libby Phelps | @libbyphelpsphotography
Empowering Women: Carbondale prepares for Air Race Classic Annalise Schmidt aschmidt@dailyegyptian.com
In the world of air racing, skilled pilots navigate challenging courses spanning thousands of miles. The stories of female aviators often intertwine because of the Air Race Classic (ARC), an all-female aviation competition that pushes the boundaries of strategy and camaraderie within the aviation community. This year, the ARC will begin in Carbondale at the Southern Illinois Airport. As competitors gear up for the 2024 race, many women are reflecting on their journeys into aviation, the challenges faced in the previous races and the impact this event has on their lives and the broader world of women in aviation. The Saluki Aces is a collegiate team with two members from SIU. The team competed in the 2023 ARC last June, and finished second both overall and amongst collegiate teams. The team is hoping to compete again this year. Graci McDaniel, pilot of the team, said, “I found my interest in aviation from wanting to become an astronaut, surprisingly. Although that’s still my ultimate dream, aviation seemed like the best way to go about it, without the chance to be stuck behind a desk for the next 20 or so years of my life.” McDaniel had family members who were connected to the aviation industry, which piqued her initial interest and influenced her decision to get involved herself. “My grandpa, Calvin McDaniel, founded the Pinckneyville airport, so aviation was a common theme in stories told at the dinner table. I took my first discovery flight my junior year of high school, and I fell in love with the profession. Hopefully as commercial space travel becomes a commodity, there will be an opportunity to help or even fly rockets one day,” McDaniel said. She originally became involved AIR RACE CLASSIC | 5