Coach, Team of the Year for 2024-25 South Jersey Girls Basketball

2024-25 South Jersey Girls Basketball Coach of the Year

Even among a dizzying amount of terrific coaching performances across South Jersey this winter, it would be hard to come up with a more impressive finish than Cherry Hill West's Dan Butler came up with.

The Lions won the Olympic Conference Patriot Division title, West's first-ever South Jersey Group 3 championship and then stunned the state to win the NJSIAA Group 3 title, the only state championship for South Jersey teams this year.

West lost just twice for the season heading into the Final Four weekend of the south Jersey Invitational, where the Lions lost back-to-back games to fellow Olympic Conference division winners Paul VI and Lenape. From that point on, West won nine straight games.

During that final win streak, West allowed less than 29 points per contest. In the state final, the Lions held Chatham to more than 36 points below their season average with 19 points.

Built around senior Molly Bovell, Julia Lewis, Danielle Short and Addison Petti, plus sophomore Kirsten Gibson, among others, Cherry Hill West put together a spectacular season showcasing the coaching talents of Butler, the 2024-25 Courier-Post Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.

Final 2024-25 South Jersey Girls Basketball Mean 15

From the first day of the season, the Paul VI Eagles were the class of South Jersey. The team won the South Jersey Non-Public A, South Jersey Invitational and Olympic Conference National Division championships while compiling a 27-0 record through its loss in the state championship game.

Paul VI finished 22-1 against New Jersey competition and 5-0 against teams from Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York. Their 17-point second-half comeback against national power Long Island Lutheran was as thrilling a game as any New Jersey team played all season.

Unbeaten against South Jersey opponents, the Eagles were lead by seniors Azanah Campbell, Kiyanna Blacks-Stewart and Anya George.

2. Cherry Hill West (25-4 record, previous rank: 4)

Titles: NJSIAA Group 3, South Jersey Group 3, Olympic Patriot

3. Gloucester Catholic (26-5, 2)

Tri-County Tournament, Tri-County Classic, SJ Non-Public B

4. Cherokee (20-9, 7)

SJ Group 4

5. Lenape (24-6, 3)

Olympic American, Burlington County Tournament

6. Middle Township (27-6, 5)

SJ Group 2, Cape-Atlantic Tournament

7. Moorestown (23-8, 8)

8. Bishop Eustace (21-8, 6)

9. Haddon Township (28-4, 12)

Colonial Liberty, South Jersey Group 1

10. Wildwood Catholic (23-6, 9)

Cape-Atlantic American

11. Westampton Tech (23-6, 11)

BCSL Liberty

12. Wildwood (22-8, 12)

13. Holy Spirit (20-10, 13)

14. Eastern (18-10, not ranked)

15. Haddon Heights (22-9, not ranked)

Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.