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If you were to ask a player on Cherry Hill West for a reason behind their success this season, one of the main answers will most likely be watching film.

“We watched a lot of film,” Cherry Hill West senior Julia Lewis said.

All of the time spent researching opponents and watching film paid dividends for Cherry Hill West this season, especially against Chatham in the Group 3 final.

The Cougars, ranked No. 4 in the NJ.com Top 20 at the time, were seasoned vets, having played in the state final the year before. The Lions were the veritable underdogs, until coach Dan Butler laid down the groundwork for a plan of attack.

“We had studied them quite extensively, we knew they had a great team, a returning, experienced team going to the state finals last year,” Butler said of Chatham. “They had a stud (Division I) player in (Ella) Kreuzer, and a great supporting cast of talented, athletic, tall, tough players. We were intimidated by their ability to shoot the three, so I think we primarily wanted to to shut down the three and force them to put the ball on the court and I think that was something that we did really well and executed. They hit two quick threes unfortunately to start the game and made us a little nervous, but after that we really shut them down and took away their strengths and what they wanted to be able to do.”

Cherry Hill West executed the coaching staff’s defensive plan to perfection, holding the Cougars to their lowest point total of the season en route to a 34-19 victory and their first Group 3 title.

For his efforts, Butler is the NJ.com Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season.

“He’s a super inspiring, competitive coach,” Lewis said. “He really gets us motivated before games and he prepares very well before our games.”

All of the preparation led Cherry Hill West, which finished the season ranked No. 11, to a 25-4 record, the Olympic Conference Patriot Division title, a berth in the SJIBT semifinals and its first South, Group 3 and Group 3 titles in program history.

But despite all of the success the Lions had throughout the season, winning a state title wasn’t very openly spoken about.

“It was in the back of our minds, it wasn’t something that we necessarily talked about,” Butler said. “I know it’s cliché, but we really did just focus on the process of the daily grind, trying to get better and focusing on the only things we could control, which were having great practices, develop as a team, and improve on certain areas of the game throughout the season.

“We knew we were going to be contenders in Group 3, and we thought from the very beginning that it would be between Moorestown and West, and that’s exactly what happened. I never thought the moment got too big for our girls and they just focused on the fundamentals and playing free and confidently, and I think that helped.”

Cherry Hill West also didn’t lose any seniors from last year’s team that went 19-6 and advanced to the South, Group 3 semifinals, where it lost to eventual Group 3 champion Mainland.

Sophomore Kirsten Gibson led the team in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game and hitting for 60 3-pointers, while seniors Molly Bovell (8.6 ppg., 30 3s), Lewis (11.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 2.0 apg.), Addison Petti (5.1 ppg., 3.0 rpg.) and Danielle Short (4.6 ppg., 2.8 rpg.) brought leadership and experience, having played on varsity all four years.

According to Butler, the journey to winning a state title all started when those four seniors were freshmen.

“We knew it was four really solid basketball players, four great athletes, that were coming in together and I think they came in at the perfect time where we didn’t have a lot of experience or quality talent in the program,” Butler said. “They had the opportunity to play right away as freshmen and start as freshmen and they went through some, not even growing pains because they were successful, but they got invaluable experience playing in the Olympic Conference and just getting adjusted to varsity basketball at a young age and then they progressively got better. We didn’t miss a beat from a great year last year and really played with confidence and toughness and great team chemistry throughout the year, and I think that varsity experience certainly helped us during the playoff run.”

Cherry Hill West started the season 6-2 with losses to Middle Township and Bishop Eustace, and after the loss to Eustace on Jan. 7, went on a 10-game win streak before losing back-to-back games against Paul VI and Lenape.

From there, the Lions reeled off another nine-straight wins, which culminated in their first state title.

“I think we came into the season really well prepared. We had the same exact starting lineup that we did last year, we did good last year but not as good as we did this year,” Lewis said. “Every practice we worked really hard, every game we played very, very hard, and all of our team chemistry started to build together, and then by the end of the season, during playoffs we were at our peak.”

Butler, who also coaches the boys soccer team at Cherry Hill West, has been at the helm of the girls basketball team for 16 years. He started as an assistant on the boys basketball team, and when the head coaching job for the girls opened up, he jumped at the opportunity.

He knew being the head coach of the girls program would be an exciting endeavor, and bring with it its own unique challenges, and looking back he’s proud of the path the Lions have gone down over the years.

“It’s just been a journey with great people, a great cast of girls. I know winning is certainly icing on the cake and a state championship is certainly unexpected, not even a pleasant surprise, it was just pleasant,” Butler said. “The quality of the friendships and the quality of the group of kids and coaches that we have, I think that was the most important thing and the most valuable thing. You spend so much time together as a group, practicing, watching film, all the team events that are off the court. All of those things were just truly special.”

Lauren Knego covers girls basketball. You can reach her at lknego@njadvancemedia.com.

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Officials with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities have challenged Butler Electric's 26% base rate increase in 2024, ruling this week that the rate hike must go through a formal review before becoming permanent.

The utilities board's March 19 decision means the rate hike, approved in August 2024 by the state’s Local Finance Board, could be reversed, with refunds issued depending on the outcome of a full review. In the meantime, customers will continue paying the higher rates.

Butler Electric, a municipal utility that serves about 11,900 connections across Butler, Bloomingdale, Kinnelon, Riverdale and West Milford, sought the increase to manage rising costs and a $1.65 million budget deficit, according to state records.

Butler Electric officials said the utility had gone more than a decade without a base rate hike, and without additional revenue, Butler Borough taxpayers would have to bear the financial burden of maintaining the system.

The increase caught the attention of officials with the state's Division of Rate Counsel, who argued that the approval process bypassed regulatory oversight. Under state law, municipal utilities that serve customers beyond their borders are regulated as public utilities for those customers and require BPU approval for rate changes.

About 65% of Butler Electric's customers — more than 7,700 — live outside Butler’s municipal boundaries, BPU records show. Rate Counsel representatives ultimately argued that the process to obtain the rate hike through the Local Finance Board was flawed and removed due process protections and participation rights for ratepayers outside of Butler.

The dispute was further complicated when Butler Electric officials filed an application with the BPU on Dec. 5, 2024, seeking to nearly triple its Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause (LEAC) rate from $0.027756 per kilowatt-hour to $0.077221 per kilowatt-hour. The LEAC rate covers fluctuating energy supply costs and is typically reviewed by the BPU. Officials with the Division of Rate Counsel said the additional increase compounded the financial impact on ratepayers and should be examined as part of a full rate proposal and review, records show.

After reviewing the case, BPU staff recommended that the board assert jurisdiction, require Butler Electric to file a formal petition for the rate change and mandate that any future rate changes be submitted to both the BPU and Division of Rate Counsel before implementation.

BPU officials agreed on March 19, ordering that Butler Electric’s rates, including the LEAC rate, must be subject to BPU oversight.

Butler Electric's base rates as of March 2025 start at $5.01 for residential ratepayers, according to its website. Rates for residences using between 16 and 600 kilowatt-hours is $0.050298 per kilowatt-hour. For usage over 600 kilowatt-hours, the rate is $0.040107 per kilowatt-hour. All rates represent increases of roughly 26% from March 2024's rates, records show.

The rate review at the BPU is expected to come on or before Jan. 1, 2027. The Local Finance Board barred Butler Electric from seeking another hike before that date, state records show.