The Cherry Hill West girls basketball team poses with the Group 3 state championship trophy after defeating Chatham, 34-19, in the basketball game played at Jersey Mike's Arena on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Collin Conway/D2 Sports Network
PISCATAWAY - Since the doors opened at Cherry Hill West High School in 1956, the school's girls' basketball program had never won a sectional final, let alone made a state final.
That all changed in eight days. First, on March 7th, West defeated Moorestown, 50-43. The following Tuesday the 11th, the Lions cruised past Neptune for a spot in the Group 3 state final. Finally, on Saturday the 15th, Cherry Hill West dominated Chatham, 34-19, for its first-ever state title in program history.
Leading the way offensively was none other than sophomore Kirsten Gibson who tallied a game-high 16 points in the victory. Defensively, the entire unit was on lockdown. Senior Julia Lewis had the task of guarding Chatham's number one scorer, Bucknell commit Ella Kreuzer. Lewis held Kreuzer to a minute four points as opposed to the latter's average of 16.4 points per game.
"I was just following the game plan," Lewis said. "She's a very good player and I knew it was going to be a tough task. Everyone doing their job on defense made it easier because we played how we expected to, we practiced everything they'd do."
Lewis herself added seven points while leading the team with eight rebounds and five assists. Ending her career as a champion, the senior had a career year pouring in 335 points and snatching 115 rebounds both good for career-highs in a season.
Chatham ended the first quarter with a 6-4 lead and momentum in their favor.
West shot out of the gate in the second quarter on an 8-2 run which put the Lions in the driver's seat that they'd never surrender. Gibson herself went on an unanswered 8-0 run before Chatham's Ella von Doussa sank a layup to try and claw closer.
The second half was all West as they outscored Chatham, 14-7 in the final 16 minutes of play holding Chatham to just a single basket in the fourth quarter scored with under a minute left to play.
"We just came out firing from to start the second half," West coach Dan Butler said. "We had a plan and I couldn't have asked for a better performance from the girls today. They played probably their best game all season."
The experience and age of the Cherry Hill West roster came into effect when the time called for it. Being that the starting five consists of four seniors who have contributed to the varsity team for multiple seasons, the vision of winning a state championship this season was alive and well a few seasons ago.
"It really starts with this group of seniors," Butler said. "They've worked for this moment ever since they stepped into the gym as freshmen. We knew once they were at this age, they'd be a special group that could get us to this point and they got it done."
West lost only four games the entire season including South Jersey Group 2 champion Middle Township, state finalist Paul VI, and South Jersey Group 4 finalist Lenape. The wins were just as crucial comprising of wins over South Jersey Group 4 champion Cherokee, a season sweep over South Jersey Group 3 finalist Moorestown, and Egg Harbor Township.
"Playing in the Olympic Conference is no joke," Butler noted. "It doesn't matter if it's in your division or a crossover game, playing teams like Lenape, Cherokee, and others gets you prepared for games like this. Today I think we just executed more."
The only returning starter for next year is the sophomore Gibson. She finished her sophomore campaign with a total of 521 points, 85 rebounds, 37 assists, and 14 blocks with none more emphatic than her lone block tallied in the Group 3 state final.