Former SU women’s basketball guard Tiana Mangakahia dies at 30
Tiana Mangakahia, who played for SU from 2017-2021 and holds the program's total assists record of 736, died Thursday at age 30. Hieu Nguyen | Daily Orange File Photo
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Former Syracuse women’s basketball point guard Tiana Mangakahia, 30, died Thursday after losing her battle with cancer, SU announced in a press release Friday. Playing with the Orange from 2017-21, Mangakahia was one of the best point guards in program history, earning First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors twice.
“Syracuse Athletics mourns the passing of Tiana Mangakahia,” SU Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in the press release. “Tiana defined courage, inspiration and passion. An All-American on the basketball court, she was an even better person off the court.”
Mangakahia finished her Syracuse career in 2021 as the program leader in assists (736), assists per game (8.7) and free throw percentage (.873). She also averaged 15.8 points per game, including a career-high 17.5 to pair with 9.8 assists per contest in 2017.
She also missed all of the 2019-2020 season while battling stage 2 breast cancer but was deemed cancer-free later that year after undergoing surgery. She returned to the court in November of the following year, playing 20 games in her final year of eligibility.
After her college career, Mangakahia went undrafted in the 2021 WNBA Draft. However, she played professionally overseas, which included stints in Russia, France and her home country of Australia. She then retired from basketball in 2023 when her cancer returned but briefly played with the Australia NBL1’s Southern District Spartans this season.
