It was a scrappy struggle from start to finish when the Dibrell Lady Wildcats made the trip to Irving College on Monday night.
The difference came in the final two minutes when Dibrell scored the last seven points to earn a 36-26 victory in 7-8 grade basketball.
Marlee Smith led Dibrell with 15 points, while Jordan Bess countered with 10 for Irving College.
The win keeps Dibrell unbeaten at 6-0. Upset-minded Irving College falls to 2-5.
The game was a full-court slugfest with Dibrell threatening to pull away several times in the second half. But each time the Lady Wildcats would push the lead to five or seven points, Irving College would fight right back.
When Lady Tiger Kelsey Mullican drained a long jumper, it cut the Dibrell lead to 29-26 at the two-minute mark.
But Dibrell kept its poise down the stretch. Smith hit a 12-foot baseline jumper with 1:20 left, and Lexi Locke drove the lane to make a floater in transition and increase the margin to 33-26.
 A foul shot was followed by a 15-footer from Smith to make it a 10-point lead in the closing seconds and ensure no Irving College comeback was in order.
The game was fast paced with Dibrell’s press setting the tempo. Irving College was able to handle the press in spurts, but struggled at other times, including a four-minute stretch in the third quarter where the Lady Wildcats scored two open layups off turnovers.
Another strength for Dibrell was its ability to control the rebound, make a quick outlet pass, and get to the basket quickly.
Irving College was more fluent in its half-court set when the Lady Tigers could get the ball inside to Bess.  She was hard to stop from the post, but didn’t have as much success from the foul line going 2-for-9.
Other Dibrell scorers were Macayla Ferrell with 10, Locke with six, Emma Holmes and Sienna Womack with two each, and Alexis Wanamaker with one.
For Irving College, Mullican scored nine, Callie Cathcart had four and Brianna Cooke added three.