RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Every time Etiwanda High School senior Daisia Mitchell walks into the basketball gym, she has three questions on her mind. 

"What can I do better today? Who can I help today?" she said. "And what difference am I gonna make on this team after I'm gone?"

For Mitchell, all the questions add a lot of pressure. It's a tall task to lead the state's top girls basketball team. 

Fortunately, the Eagles' senior has what some might call a uniquely competitive drive that helps her push through. 

"I've always been competitive," she said with a smile. "Even competing with my siblings, like my entire family plays, and I tell them all the time that I'm better than all of them and I will prove it to them any time."

It's a mindset and confidence that carries over from Mitchell to younger players on the roster like freshman Aliyahna Morris and sophomore Kennedy Smith. 

The Eagles compete, whether as a team or as individuals. 

"We are very competitive," Morris explained. "Practices sometimes are harder than actual games."

Smith echoed the sentiment.

"I really hate losing in everything, like if it's a game in class or something, I don't wanna lose because I really get salty," Smith said.

She said it best, the Eagles don't like to lose and they haven't yet. 

But don't let their perfect record fool you. This is an Etiwanda team that still faces its share of challenges. 

The first is that many schools don't want to play them.

"I don't wanna say they are going to lose anyway, but you know what you're coming to play playing against us," Smith said.

"We're not getting very good games right now, and we're struggling a little," Morris added. "But we're just staying focused."

The second challenge has been dealing with injuries. 

Just about a week after filming with Spectrum News, Mitchell dislocated her right knee. The senior leader of this team will be out indefinitely, hoping that she can return for the postseason.

But just because she can't play doesn't mean the team won't feel her presence. 

Mitchell's teammates are ready to do everything they can to keep the momentum going. 

"I would rather, and we would prefer being the underdogs and fighting our way to the top," Smith said. "But now we're at the top from the beginning so it's different. We just stay humble, and do us."

It's what Mitchell would want. 

For an Etiwanda program that's always been good, she knows this is their year to be great.

"I feel like we have all the pieces to the puzzle. We make that reference all the time," Mitchell said. "The little things we all do when we come together just makes us a whole."

Longtime head coach Stan Delus can't help but agree. This Eagles team is a special one. 

"They have a willing relentlessness to finish off the season the way they started," Delus said. "Just their chemistry and ability to play for one another no matter what the situation or scenario is, they play for one another."

And that comes into play now more than ever. This team is ready to continue fighting for each other, anchored by a senior leader who has total faith in them. 

"I just think that if my teammates believe in them like I do, then the sky's the limit," Mitchell said.