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Mangakahia Will Turn Pro After the Season

The Syracuse star point guard will play in her last Dome game this weekend.
Mike McAllister|
Mangakahia Will Turn Pro After the Season
Mangakahia Will Turn Pro After the Season

The superb Syracuse career of star point guard Tiana Mangakahia will end at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. Mangakahia made it official on Wednesday during a media availability when she stated she would not be returning to Syracuse next season. 

"I want to go pro," Mangakahia said. "And I feel ready."

Indeed she is. Mangakahia is the career leader in assists at Syracuse. She is going finish in the top five in total assists in ACC history despite only playing three seasons (everyone else in the top five has four years worth of statistics) and number one in assists per game. 

A native of Australia, she has spent her college career thousands of miles away from her home. When asked to reflect on her time in Central New York, she gave a teary eyed response. 

"It's meant so much to me just being here," Mangakahia said. "It's going to be really emotional this weekend. Just everything I've been through. When I first got here coach Q has believed and trusted in me since I stepped on campus. I'll just be very grateful." 

Mangakahia is one of the best sports stories of the season. She was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, beat the disease and missed all of last season as she recovered. Mangakahia returned this year and has played at a high level. She is averaging over 11 points, 7.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting over 36% from three point range. She will be remembered as one of the best in program history. 

Syracuse is currently 11-6 (8-6) with two regular season games remaining. The first is against Boston College Thursday night. 

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Mike McAllister
MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting.  EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans.  After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years.  Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports.  Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. 

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