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Syracuse star Tiana Mangakahia shares cancer diagnosis

By Andy Brown

SOUTH BEND, IN - DECEMBER 28: Syracuse Orange guard Tiana Mangakahia (4) dribbles the basketball during the women's college basketball game between the Syracuse Orange and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 28, 2017, at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - DECEMBER 28: Syracuse Orange guard Tiana Mangakahia (4) dribbles the basketball during the women's college basketball game between the Syracuse Orange and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 28, 2017, at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Sad news from one of the best point guards in the country

Syracuse’s star point guard Tiana Mangakahia shared some tough news on the school’s athletics website this morning: she has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer (Grade 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma).

In a post titled “I Will Come Out Stronger,” the 24-year-old Australian described discovering a lump on her left breast just over a month ago, which led to her diagnosis on June 18 following a biopsy. She wrote that she will start chemotherapy on Friday, July 5, and that she will have to undergo surgery following the completion of that treatment.

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“I know this will be tough, but I will get through it,” she wrote in the post. “This is just the beginning for me and I will come out stronger. I have much more to accomplish and I hope to inspire others to overcome their own adversity just like I know I will.”

Mangakahia continued by saying she had the full support of her doctors, athletics department, team and family. Her coach, Quentin Hillsman, echoed that sentiment in a tweet, embedded below:

In April, Mangakahia, an All-American honorable mention last season and the program record holder for assists, decided to forgo the WNBA draft and return to Syracuse for her senior year, after helping guide the Orange to their highest-ever seed (No. 3) in the NCAA Tournament. Today she wrote that while the focus for this year has shifted, her cancer “is beatable and [she] will fight and win.”

Mangakahia has led the nation in assist percentage in each of the last two seasons, a playmaker who has attracted the attention of numerous WNBA front offices.

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