CHEYENNE, WY - The Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles (1-0) picked up a season-opening win over Air Force Club 61-52 on Monday night. 

The Golden Eagles started the game on a 17-4 run after Riley Van Tassell (Cheyenne, Wyo.) hit a turnaround in the lane to push the lead to 13. Air Force would close the first quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the Golden Eagles' lead to 17-12.

Van Tassell finished the game with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and grabbed three rebounds in her collegiate debut. 

LCCC was able to push the lead back to 12 points after a Sam Hester (Saratoga Springs, Utah) fast-break basket to extend the lead to 28-16 before both teams traded baskets entering the half with a 32-20 Golden Eagles' advantage. 

Hester scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, hitting a three-pointer in three attempts and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. 

Air Force Club cut the Golden Eagles' lead to 10 at 47-37 at the end of three quarters. 

Monique Marcetic-Vaotangi (Melbourne, Australia) scored 13 points and collected five rebounds while Halle Hester (Saratoga Springs, Utah) scored six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the three-point line in the win. 

LCCC held off Air Force Club in the fourth quarter despite the Falcons closing the gap to six at 50-44 with 6:17 left in the game. The Golden Eagles finished the game on an 11-8 run to earn their first win of the season. 

Ximena Gutierrez (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in the win. 

The Golden Eagles hit the road on Friday, November 5, when they take on North Platte at 4:00 pm MDT.