RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — To have eight newcomers on a roster can be seen as a challenge for a high school basketball coach in any season. But, it's forced Etiwanda head coach Stan Delus to adopt an interesting strategy in a shortened-pandemic year. 

"Because they were so young," he explained, "We almost had to stick them in the fire and say, 'sink or swim' and see what happened. They were able to stay afloat."

More than just staying afloat, the Eagles put together a strong regular season campaign. 

Behind the stellar play of freshman forward Kennedy Smith and guard Destiny Agubata, the Eagles finished the season as league champions with a 15-2 overall record, staying unbeaten in the Baseline League. They also qualified for the Open Division playoff pool, becoming the only public school to make the division in each of the last seven years. 

The Eagles may be one of the youngest teams in the division, but ask Smith, and she'll say age is just a number. 

"My whole life, I've been playing up," she said. "I played against boys when I was younger, so I really had the experience to come to Etiwanda and play at this Division 1 level." 

But coming into this gym this year, their lack of experience wasn't the only obstacle they would face. 

In the week before playoffs tipped off, the Eagles had one starter break her leg, their top returner left the team, and two more, including Agubata, could not practice fully due to head injuries. 

Agubata said it has been difficult, but she has relied on the team and her head coach to push her through. 

"We're all in this together. All we have is each other, so we've been trying to use that and push through things," Agubata said. "Especially for me, I've been praying to the Lord to pull me through this."

While she is expected to be able to play, the loss of three other players has been a tough pill to swallow for Delus and his team. He has been able to keep them motivated, knowing in a year like this, challenges can only make them stronger. 

Regardless of what happens this weekend in their first game against Mater Dei, he can't help but be proud. 

"To see them still compete, still fight and go out there and play for their teammates," he said. "I am proud because they are playing for each other, and that's what we preach."

It's a strategy that's worked for them for more than two decades, a period where the Eagles have won 22 league championships and sent more than 100 players to college programs. That legacy is why both Agubata and Smith picked Etiwanda in the first place; the campus a place where they could be challenged to be the best. 

"We are a little undervalued because we're a public school and we're really the underdogs, but we fight through all the changes and the difficulty and play together," Smith said. 

"Us being young is not going to hold us back," Agubata said. "Like how Coach Stan says, his intensity doesn't stop, so if he's on you, he's gonna stay on you because that's the only way you're gonna get better."

"My team steps up more when we play harder competition," she added. "So I'm looking forward to the intensity."

Taking the mentality that while yes, they want to win and they're going to do everything they can to do so, this year, it's not the only thing that matters. 

"Everything that we do, win, lose or draw is an experience that will help us toward the future because we're gonna have our core back," Delus said.