Multiple Syracuse women’s basketball players earn ACC postseason awards & honors

Four Syracuse Orange women’s basketball players were honored with Atlantic Coast Conference season awards on Tuesday morning.

After a breakout freshman season, Kamilla Cardoso racked up multiple conference accolades, including Freshman of the Year, Co-Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team, All-Freshman Team, First Team All-ACC by the Blue Ribbon Panel, and Second Team All-ACC by the conference’s head coaches. She is the first player in program history to earn ACC Freshman of the Year honors. At the end of the regular season, Cardoso led the conference in field goal % (.595) and blocks per game (2.8). The Brazil native earned three-straight ACC Freshman of the Week awards back in January.

Emily Engstler earned Co-Sixth Player of the Year for her stellar performance off the bench this season. She tallied a near double-double in the regular season with 9.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest.

Tiana Mangakahia earned an All-ACC Team nod for the third time in her career. She was named to the honorable mention team from both the Blue Ribbon Panel and ACC’s head coaches. The Australian native leads the nation with 7.5 assists per game. On Monday, Mangakahia was also named a top-5 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award.

Kiara Lewis was also earned a spot on the All-ACC honorable mention team from the Blue Ribbon. This is her second-straight year as an All-ACC selection. Lewis leads the Orange with 14.5 points per contest heading into the postseason.

Next up for Syracuse, the Orange (12-7, 9-7 ACC) will head to Greensboro, North Carolina for the ACC Tournament. ‘Cuse, the fifth seed, will battle the winner of the No. 12 Pittsburgh/No. 13 Boston College game on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. EST.