By Lee Trawick Riverbend News
Cartaesha Macklin was born on Nov. 18, 1992. While Macklin is a graduate of Lafayette High School (LHS) in June of 2011, she was born in Live Oak and grew up in both Live Oak and Mayo. Macklin had made a name for herself long before she ever played college basketball; at LHS, she was known as a hustler on both the court and the classroom. She was a parade All-American for the Lafayette Hornets on her way to a stellar career that included her scoring 2,499 points while playing 132 games. Macklin averaged 18.9 points per game; that average was helped by her senior season alone, where she was unstoppable, averaging 29 points per game. Her coach at LHS, Derek Garland, reflected on Macklin as a born leader who did everything with poise and charisma that portrayed confidence to her teammates. "No matter what Macklin was doing for us, she did it with a smile and with ease," said Coach Garland. She elevated her teammates by her leadership on the court, the softball field and her sheer will to win. She was the type of player a coach dreams of; she was everything you wanted as a player."
Macklin carried her work ethic and will to win 718 miles north to Southern Illinois University (SIU), where she played basketball for the SIU Salukis. While her impact will be forever felt at LHS, her influence will now be etched in stone for the rest of the world to see for all time as she was inducted into the SIU Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, Aug. 6. Macklin plans to attend the Hall of Fame Ceremony at SIU during homecoming weekend, Saturday, Oct. 16.
Macklin played guard for the Salukis from 2013 to 2016 and completed her career as SIU's all-time leading scorer with 1,779 points and the career leader in free throws made (465). As a senior, she led SIU to a 20-win season and the Women's Basketball Invitational, the program's first postseason appearance in nine years. Macklin was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and the 2012 MVC Freshman of the Year. She now lives in O'Fallon, Ill. and is a business analyst at Centene Corporation.
Macklin's overall goal in life was not to be a Hall of Fame basketball player, nor did she envision her life playing out through sports the way it has. "I couldn't have imagined this. Coming from where I came from, I knew I wanted to accomplish more and become successful, which may look different for everyone," said Macklin. "My dream was to play professionally at the highest level, so I shot for the moon. Though I didn't make it, receiving accomplishments like this lets me know I made it amongst the stars. I'm able to be a visual representation for many small-town kids and give them something to believe in. That, within itself, is why this is so meaningful to me."