When Excel started to get really pesky, Adairsville turned to its full court press and deeper bench and warded off the Lady Eagles, 52-29, Tuesday night.

The two teams stood toe-to-toe the first quarter, with the Lady Tigers squeaking out a 10-9 lead over their visitors.

Adairsville then coaxed some turnovers and errant shots from the Lady Wildcats in the second period and outscored them 9-2 for a 19-11 lead at halftime.

Excel responded with a 5-0 run early in the second half to close the contest to 19-16 but the Lady Tigers turned to their full court press and slowly began racking up more turnovers on their way to a 12-4 run and a 31-20 lead at the end of three quarters. Stephanie Kuhrt and Mallorie Collum scored nine of those points to pave the way.

Mallory Bramblett had a 3-pointer -- one of three on the night -- to jump start the Lady Tigers' run in the final quarter. Adairsville outscored Excel 21-9 in the period to cruise to a comfortable margin.

"That's the first team that's put pressure on us this year," Excel head coach Michael Roberson said. "I thought we did pretty well against it. I thought they wore us down a little bit, too. It was 19-16 with about two minutes into the third quarter. We had made a little run and went from 19-11 to 19-16."

The Tigers got the evening's first score when Bramblett sank a trey just under a minute into the game. Excel answered with Emily Willingham scoring a two-pointer on a put-back only to watch Bramblett answer with her second trey.

Catie Metcalf responded with a bucket for Excel and Collum buried a free throw for a 7-4 lead at the 2:04 mark of the first period. Walker Bell then found the net for a trey and the game was tied at 7-all.

Bekah Bell hit two free throws to put the Lady Eagles up 9-7 but Kuhrt sank one from the charity stripe and then snatched a rebound and put it back in to give the Lady Tigers a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Adairsville allowed just one bucket in the second quarter while scoring 9 points for a 19-11 lead at the half. The Lady Tigers got a big boost from six turnovers committed by Excel.

The Lady Eagles closed to 19-16 early in the third quarter but Adairsville turned to a full court press and used its deeper lineup to take a comfortable lead, 23-16, about midway through the third quarter. The margin stretched to 31-20 at the end of the third quarter.

Scoring for Adairsville were Bramblett, 9; Collum 16; Kuhrt. 11, Hannah Kirkpatrick, 2; Stormy Tomblin, 4; Kelsy Hice, 4; Olivia Towe, 6.

Excel was paced by Willingham, with 10; Walker Bell, 8; Bekah Bell 5; Metcalf, 4; Mirriam Hibbard, 2.

Roberson said he saw some good things out of his Lady Eagles.

"We played in our half court awhile and started figuring out some things about them," he said. "Overall I was pleased with the girls' effort ... but we also saw things we'll need to work on. It's the third game of the season and we'll work on it, and we'll get better at it, no doubt.

"We're learning to play with great effort and intensity," he said. "We'll go back to work tomorrow."

Adairsville improved to 2-2, 0-0 in Region 7A-AA while Excel's record dropped to 2-1, 0-0 in Region 6A-A.

The Lady Eagles next play Friday, when they visit Chattooga. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

The Lady Tigers host Sonoraville Friday at 7 p.m.