Former Syracuse basketball star and noted cancer survivor Tiana Mangakahia has come up short in her bid to make the Australian women's basketball national team that will compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The final 12-player squad was unveiled earlier this week, and the Brisbane native's name was not on the list. Mangakahia had been named to the Opals' preliminary squad last July after recovering from a bout with breast cancer. The 26-year-old had originally been invited to the national team's camp in 2019, but was forced to withdraw after being diagnosed with the disease that caused her to miss the entire 2019-20 college basketball season.

After becoming SU's all-time assist leader in her first two seasons and twice being named First Team All-ACC, Mangakahia returned to the floor last fall and struggled to regain her pre-sickness form. Her scoring average dipped to 11.4 points per game, though Tiana's 7.2 assists per game led the nation for the second time in her career. The honorable mention All-ACC selection went undrafted in the 2021 WNBA Draft, and after signing a tryout contract with the Phoenix Mercury, was released earlier this month.

Mangakahia has since signed professional contracts with the NBL1's Northside Wizards and the Russian Premier League's Dynamo Moscow. She'll make her pro debut in her home country on Saturday when the Wizards face her hometown team of Brisbane in nearby Brendale. Her tenure with the Dynamo begins when the NBL1 season ends in mid-September.