Tiana Mangakahia Signs with Phoenix Mercury
Former Syracuse point guard Tiana Mangakahia has signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury. Mangakahia went undrafted in the 2021 WNBA Draft on Thursday. The draft featured three rounds and 36 total picks.
Mangakahia led the nation in assists (7.2) this past season, her first after returning from battling stage two breast cancer. She is the ACC's all-time leader in career assists per game.
One of the best players in college basketball during the 2018-19 campaign, she had to deal with the toughest opponents of her life during the following offseason when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2019. She received a phone call one morning from her doctor to reveal the diagnosis.
Between July and October, Mangakahia underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy to battle the disease. During a five hour surgery in November, doctors removed what remained of the tumor. They did not find cancer cells in what was removed, and she was diagnosed as cancer free.
After missing the entire 2019-20 season while she recovered, Mangakahia returned to the court one year after being declared cancer free. She led Syracuse to a season opening win at Stony Brook and scored 16 points in the victory.
Mangakahia is a two time Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award top 5 finalist, and three time top 10 finalist. She is a two time WBCA All America Honorable Mention. She finished her Syracuse career averaging 15.8 points and 8.7 assists per game.
