Mangakahia to make Pro Debut Saturday in Australia
5/27/2021 10:39:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Former Syracuse women's basketball standout Tiana Mangakahia will make her professional debut in Australia on Saturday, May 28. Mangakahia signed with the Northside Wizards (NBL1 North) and returned to Australia after being released by the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury earlier this month. After two weeks of quarantine in Sydney, she will join her team in Brendale, just north of Brisbane, this weekend for her first game at 5 p.m. AEST (3 a.m. ET) at the South Pine Sports Complex.Â
"It's so amazing to be playing in front of my family," Mangakahia said. "The last time I played in front of any family was my first year at Syracuse when my parents came over to watch us play in Las Vegas. So much has changed since then and I'm so excited to start my professional career close to home, especially before heading to Russia in the fall."Â
Mangakahia and her Northside teammates will face Brisbane on Saturday and will turn around to play Logan Thunder at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. AEST. Fans can watch all NBL1 North games online for free through the NBL1 website.Â
The Wizards are 1-1 this season. Northside lost to Brisbane in its season opener, 82-65, on May 15 and earned a one-point win, 63-62, over Sunshine Coast Phoenix on May 22.
Mangakahia played three seasons at Syracuse and was twice a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection, a three-time All-ACC pick and finished her career at Syracuse with 1,341 points (11th in program history) and 736 assists. She was the fastest player to score 1,000 points in her career at Syracuse and was the first player to reach both the 600 and 700 assist mark in an Orange uniform, sealing her legacy as the program's all-time leader. In two of her three seasons she led the NCAA in assists per game and finished as the runner-up in that category in 2018-19. She helped guide Syracuse to three NCAA Tournament appearances including a national seed in 2019 when the Orange hosted the first and second rounds at the Carrier Dome.
She missed the entire 2019-20 season while battling Stage 2 Grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Mangakahia made her courageous return to the court for her final year of eligibility where she averaged 11.4 points and started in all 20 games she appeared in. Her 7.3 assists per game led the nation and positioned her as a top-5 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award which recognizes the nation's top point guard. Mangakahia also was a semifinalist in 2018 and a semifinalist in 2019 for the Lieberman Award.Â
After the NBL1 season Mangakahia will head to Russia where she signed a contract with the Russian Premiere League's WBC Dynamo Moscow.Â
"It's so amazing to be playing in front of my family," Mangakahia said. "The last time I played in front of any family was my first year at Syracuse when my parents came over to watch us play in Las Vegas. So much has changed since then and I'm so excited to start my professional career close to home, especially before heading to Russia in the fall."Â
Mangakahia and her Northside teammates will face Brisbane on Saturday and will turn around to play Logan Thunder at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. AEST. Fans can watch all NBL1 North games online for free through the NBL1 website.Â
The Wizards are 1-1 this season. Northside lost to Brisbane in its season opener, 82-65, on May 15 and earned a one-point win, 63-62, over Sunshine Coast Phoenix on May 22.
Mangakahia played three seasons at Syracuse and was twice a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection, a three-time All-ACC pick and finished her career at Syracuse with 1,341 points (11th in program history) and 736 assists. She was the fastest player to score 1,000 points in her career at Syracuse and was the first player to reach both the 600 and 700 assist mark in an Orange uniform, sealing her legacy as the program's all-time leader. In two of her three seasons she led the NCAA in assists per game and finished as the runner-up in that category in 2018-19. She helped guide Syracuse to three NCAA Tournament appearances including a national seed in 2019 when the Orange hosted the first and second rounds at the Carrier Dome.
She missed the entire 2019-20 season while battling Stage 2 Grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. Mangakahia made her courageous return to the court for her final year of eligibility where she averaged 11.4 points and started in all 20 games she appeared in. Her 7.3 assists per game led the nation and positioned her as a top-5 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award which recognizes the nation's top point guard. Mangakahia also was a semifinalist in 2018 and a semifinalist in 2019 for the Lieberman Award.Â
After the NBL1 season Mangakahia will head to Russia where she signed a contract with the Russian Premiere League's WBC Dynamo Moscow.Â
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballTiana Mangakahia 1995-2025
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