Esra Şencebe

Esra Şencebe — Biography

Esra Şencebe is a former shooting guard known as a good shooter, who played in Turkish women's basketball for about twenty years, winning league titles, Turkish Cups and a European cup with Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. After leaving the court she turned to coaching and in 2021 made the news as the first woman coach in the Basketbol Gençler Ligi.

She started playing at 13 at Anadolu University in Eskişehir and then moved to Galatasaray's youth system. Her professional path began with Erdemir Ereğli in 1999-2000; after İstanbul Üniversitesi, Galatasaray and a second spell at Erdemir Ereğli, she played for Fenerbahçe from 2003 to 2006, winning two league titles, two Presidents Cups and the Turkish Cup. After a loan at TED Kayseri Koleji she returned to Galatasaray in 2007, finished third in the FIBA EuroCup in 2007-08, won it in 2008-09 and took the Turkish Cup in 2009-10. Following two seasons at Beşiktaş Cola Turka she was champion again with Fenerbahçe in 2012-13. In 2013 she went back to Galatasaray and in 2014 won a second European cup with the team.

She ended her career in 2014 but returned to the court in 2015-16 with the second-division club Foça Basketbol. In later years she played for Bornova Becker Spor, Canik Belediyespor and Kırçiçeği Bodrum Basket. In total she won three league titles and three Presidents Cups, and lifted the Turkish Cup more than once.