Basketball has been a lifelong journey that has taken her not only all over the country, but the world as well. Alper, born in Istanbul, Turkey, to a father who played professional basketball, was introduced to the game very early in her life.
Alper played several teams while in Turkey, often winning some form of hardware with them. She was named the Regional Basketball MVP for the 2016-17 season and took her team to a fourth-place finish at the European Championship Division B in 2018.
She appeared in many other tournaments while playing in Turkey before coming to the U.S. to play college basketball.
After a brief start to her collegiate playing career in Maine, Alper transferred to play for Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado, for the 2020-21 season. Her career as a Ram would last three years, playing in two seasons due to the transfer rules at the time.
After the 2021-22 season, she would leave Colorado State for Northwestern State, a Southland school located in the small town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, right outside of Shreveport.
Alper would play one season for Northwestern State, seeing her minutes per game double as a Lady Demon in what was her most productive season of college basketball yet.
Her final season of college basketball has brought her here to Athens, a place that she says doesn’t compare to Fort Collins or Natchitoches.
“I just feel like, from a personal perspective, I am so much happier here,” said Alper. “I have no drama with my teammates. We all love each other on the court and off the court. (We) support each other and hang out with each other.”
Her coaches played a big part in her recruitment, especially when she was back home in Turkey and wasn’t able to visit the campus. The relationship she has with the coaches has grown ever since.
“I love my coaches,” Alper said. “With a couple of my assistant coaches, we don’t really have a big age gap so we’re more like friends. So that helps a lot.”
Confidence and mood matter so much in sports, and it is clear that Bengisu is the happiest yet in her college career based on her play this season. Alper is averaging a career-high in points, assists and steals this season with Ohio while starting in 19 of 22 games she has played in.
While her numbers are at all-time highs for her college days, the impact she provides on the floor for Ohio goes largely unnoticed by the box scores.
Abbie Kinney | Art Director
Ohio guard Bengisu Alper (33) moves on the court during a game against Ball State at The Convo, Feb. 17, 2024, in Athens.
Alper is a fearless defensive player, often guarding some of the bigger players on the opposing team and stepping in harm’s way to draw charges.
According to Alper, her role coming out of Turkey revolved around scoring and being the main option for her teams.
“Coming from Turkey, I was the best player, the best scorer, all of that,” said Alper. “Coming here, I have realized there's a lot of ‘best players’ around me. So I had to find a role (and) accept the fact that I might not be the best scorer (some nights).”
She talked about how she realized that fact and how she further adapted her game to fit into winning basketball.
“I had to find a role and the role kind of started with defense,” Alper said. “I was like, ‘OK, I can be the best defender on the team,’ so that’s what I’m trying to do.”
That role has Alper playing well during her senior season, bringing her defensive presence to every possession every time she's on the court. Her role might not produce gaudy box scores or huge numbers, but her impact tends to be one of the highest on the team, game in and game out.
Alper’s basketball journey has been unfolding since she was a child back in Istanbul, and for the senior, this chapter of her ending inspires emotion. “I've been playing basketball since I was 9, so I’m just really emotional,” said Alper. “I’m taking it day by day, not taking any day for granted.”
However emotional Alper is about her playing her last few games, the senior guard could not be happier that this chapter of her basketball journey will be ending in Athens, playing for Ohio.
“I’m so glad that it’s ending in Ohio because I had a great year personally,” said Alper. “I’m really happy here, and I wouldn’t want anywhere else but Ohio to end my career.”