OREM, Utah — Shay Fano finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and scored six decisive points in the final 80 seconds to help Utah Valley University survive, 59-54, in the season opener on Monday against Park Gilbert University.
 
With the Wolverines (1-0) trailing 54-51 with under two minutes to go, Fano hit a corner 3-pointer to tie the game with 1:17 remaining and then, after getting a steal on the defensive end, hit a jumper and was fouled to give UVU the lead for good. Her free throw made it 57-54 with 47 seconds left and Kylee Mabry's breakaway layup with six seconds left put the game away.
 
"Shay's got some experience and her heart and toughness were big for us tonight," said UVU head coach Dan Nielson. "It was a pretty ugly game but I really appreciated our effort at the end. The beginning of the third quarter and the end of the game the effort was there but we know we can't just coast. Credit to Park, they played well and utilized their skill set. We have a long way to go but that's what the season is about as we get ready for conference and just try to get better game-by-game."
 
Fano's 21 points is her career best in a Utah Valley uniform while her 11 boards also match her Wolverine career high. The preseason All-WAC selection holds career bests of 26 points and 14 rebounds while at Southern Utah as a freshman. Jaeden Brown, in her first game in a Utah Valley uniform, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Mabry added eight points off the bench and also finished with four steals in her first collegiate contest while Eleyana Tafisi added seven points and seven assists.
 
UVU missed its first six attempts from the field and converted on just two of the first 11. The Wolverines trailed 16-5 after Macy Markus hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the opening quarter. It was 16-8 after one. Fano knocked down a three and later scored a layup after a Kayla Anderson steal to get Utah Valley within three, but the Buccaneers stretched it to seven by the break, 32-25. Fano led UVU with nine at the half while Markus led all scorers with 12.
 
After hitting just 3-for-12 in the opening quarter, the Wolverines made 8-of-15 in the second but were just 1-for-6 from the foul line in the game's first 20 minutes.
 
Out of the break, Utah Valley scored the first nine points of the third quarter beginning with a Fano three and ending with an Anderson layup on an assist from Fano to give UVU a 34-32 lead. Park regained the lead and held a 46-41 advantage late in the third when Tafisi hit a corner triple to make it 46-44 after three quarters.

Park led by as much as seven in the fourth and held a 54-49 advantage with 3:11 remaining before Brown knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line to start a 10-0 run to end the game. UVU outscored the Buccaneers 15-8 in the final quarter.

For the game, Utah Valley held a slight 37-35 edge on the glass and hit 45.3% from the field overall while Park converted on 36.2% on its field goal attempts.
 
Markus, who played one season at UVU, led Park with 18 points while Jazmyne Jenkins added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. For the Wolverines, a pair of freshmen making their college debuts also got into the scoring column with Mae Afoa scoring five and Tessa Chaney scoring on her only attempt from the field to finish with two points.
 
The Wolverines now will make the short trip north to Salt Lake City to face the University of Utah on Friday at 1:30 p.m. MT in the Huntsman Center.