How driveway hoops with dad helped this senior become Eureka's all-time leading scorer

As soon as Ellie Cahill knew how to take her game to the next level, she went to the lab.

Well, it was really just her driveway. But, nevertheless, the Eureka senior started to put in the work.

Cahill has spent the last few summers with her dad, Brian Cahill, on the family hoop constantly shooting. Stepbacks, pull-ups and floaters — any shot that might help the 5-foot-10 guard grab an edge.

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“We just got tons of shots up, tons of 3s up,” the younger Cahill said, “and I feel like that’s helped me gain a lot of confidence in my game. Not just in my shooting but also in my driving (to the basket).

“That was a big focus last offseason knowing that I was going to have to create my own shots for myself as well as shots for my teammates.”

Seems as though all that repetition has paid off.

With a second-quarter free throw in last Thursday’s Heart of Illinois Conference semifinal against Tremont, Cahill became the school’s all-time leading scorer. She passed the girls mark set by two-time Journal Star player of the year Tessa Leman (1,785 points from 2015-18) and the boys leader, former Bradley player Jordan Prosser (1,732, 2006-09).

As of Saturday, her 1,818 points have come in 101 career games including a pandemic-shortened 13-game sophomore season.

“That was not even on my radar at all,” Cahill said of setting the new record. “I never thought I’d be in the position to break the record. … I just kept playing my game and didn’t focus on it but the fact that I broke it is really cool to me and I’m leaving my mark on (Eureka).”

For all that she’s achieved, Cahill knows that her hard work has gotten her to this point. She recalls being a timid freshman, wanting only to shoot and not attack the basket.

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Jerry Prina remembers the younger years of Cahill well.

“She was a girl that could score around the basket off the dribble,” the Eureka coach said, “but couldn’t create her own shot for a 3 or a step-back 2. Now, she has that.”

Cahill has become a floor general, creating shots for others and playing stout defense. She leads the team in steals with 84 (3.4 per game) to go with her 24.4 points-per-game average on 50 percent shooting.

With her teammate and best friend Ella Ausmus back in the lineup, Cahill doesn't have to do more than she can. Ausmus missed most of last season with a torn ACL, which Cahill said was really hard for the whole team.

Ausmus has responded in a big way in her final prep season, leading the team in rebounding and assists, while being the Hornets' second-leading scorer.

“How often do you see the power forward on your team lead the team in assists?” Prina asked. “It’s because of that connection (between Ausmus and Cahill).”

Added Cahill, “I’ll give her all the credit. She worked really hard during her rehab to come back, and I feel like she came back better than ever, better than last year even.”

Box-and-1 along with other junk defenses are being thrown at Cahill nightly. It’s rare for the all-Heart of Illinois Conference first-teamer not to see her opponent’s best defenders.

She lists Fieldcrest’s Ashlyn May as one of the fiercest competitors. The pair played AAU for the Illinois Valley Warriors, talk daily and will be roommates/teammates on the Illinois Wesleyan women’s basketball team come fall.

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“Ellie can get to the hoop,” May said. “She gets there every time almost, but she can also pop that 3 whenever she needs to. It’s just really great to see her put that effort in.

“She wants to succeed and pushes herself every day.”

There seems to be just one achievement left for Cahill — a deep postseason run.

As a seventh grader, she was in the stands at the former Redbird Arena when Eureka made it to the 2018 Class 2A state finals. The Leman-led Hornets took home fourth place, then won a regional the next season.

Ending that five-year drought will be a tall task but not unattainable.

“First, we’d have to win a regional,” Cahill said, “which will be hard because we have some great teams in our regional, but (a state finals trip) would be awesome.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Eureka basketball senior Ellie Cahill is program's all-time top scorer