Syracuse women’s basketball: Tiana Mangakahia goes undrafted, signs with the Phoenix Mercury

Syracuse Orange guard Tiana Mangakahia goes undrafted in the 2021 WNBA Draft. After the draft, Mangakahia signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury.

In three seasons repping the Orange & White, Mangakahia averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds per contest in 85 games. The Australian native led the nation in assists and assists per game in two of the three seasons she played and set multiple program and conference records in those categories.

She missed the 2019-20 season to battle Stage 2 breast cancer and returned to the court last season. Mangakahia leaves Syracuse as the all-time leader in career assists (736), the first player to surpass 600 and 700 assists in program history, and the fastest Orange WBB player to score 1,000 career points.

Mangakahia is the 13th Syracuse player to participate in a WNBA training camp. Former ‘Cuse players Brittney Sykes (‘17, Los Angeles Sparks) and Kayla Alexander (‘13, Minnesota Lynx) are the only Orange athletes currently on a WNBA roster.

The WNBA has just 144 total roster spots, with each team having at most 12 players. Making a roster in this league is challenging for every player, from the veterans to the first-rounders to the undrafted players.

It was an honor to watch Mangakahia become one of the greatest players in program history. She defeated breast cancer, came back to the court, and dominated despite the multiple challenges of this year. We look forward to covering her professional career, whether that is internationally or in the WNBA.