Katie Rae Ebzery

Fast Facts

Sport: Basketball
Event: Women 5x5
Olympic History:  Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Year Born:  1990
Hometown: Newcastle, NSW

About Katie

Katie-Rae Ebzery found herself within the basketball environment from a young age, she was always hanging around the courts watching her mum and cousins play. She started playing socially at five or six, and by the age of nine she was playing rep basketball for Newcastle. 

Locally, Ebzery played for Newcastle Hunters, whilst attending St Mary’s High School. At the young age of around 15 she went down to play at the AIS in Canberra. During the beginning of her professional career she played in the WNBL for the AIS and then the Dandenong Rangers. But, by 18 Ebzery had played over 65 games within the league, and it all began to take a toll on her mental wellbeing.

This saw her leave the game for six months to decide whether it was something she really wanted to pursue. Ebzery made the decision to come back to the game, but considers her time off as invaluable. It showed her how important balance is, and to be good on the court you need to be balanced off court.

Ebzery has now played over 200 games in the WNBL and has won bronze at both the 2011 and 2013 World University Games. She made her senior Australian debut during the side’s 2015 European tour before helping Australia qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

She went on to make her Olympic debut in Rio where the Australian side lined up against hosts Brazil in their opening match of the tournament which they fought back to secure an 18-point win. A close win over Turkey was followed up with another dominant 18-point victory over France. Down by 16 early in the fourth quarter the side again came from behind to earn a 92-86 win over Japan.

Another dominant fourth quarter saw Australia complete another comeback, this time against Belarus, as the Aussies finished the group undefeated to set up a quarter-final clash with Serbia. The match was back and forth the whole way with Serbia claiming a two-point lead with just 10 seconds to go. The Australian side had the chance to level the match but couldn’t score as the run of five straight women’s Olympic basketball medals for Australia.

Ebzery played in all six of Australia’s matches in Rio, averaging four points in just under 12 minutes per game.

After winning gold on home soil at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, Ebzery was apart of the silver medal winning National team at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2018 and in the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup played one of her most memorable games against Spain where she contributed 10 points in 28 fast and furious minutes. Australian went on to win the silver medal.

Ebzery was selected for her second Olympic Games in Tokyo. Drawn in Group C, Australia lost their opening match to Belgium, then suffered a critical two-point loss in their second game against China, going on to win the last match comfortably against Puerto Rico. Australia finished third in their Group resulting in a challenging quarter-final match against the USA, which they lost 55-79, ending their Olympic campaign in eighth place. America would go on to win the gold medal.

Ebzery, a point guard, was the backbone of the Australian team playing in all four games and spending the most time on the court of any Aussie - 1:55 hours. She scored 26 points, made 14 rebounds and had the second most assists in the team with 17.

Two months after Tokyo, the dual Olympian called time on her career, retiring after 15 Australian WNBL seasons. She was described as feisty, skilled, physical and relentless on the court.
"Growing up representing your country in the sport you choose was always the biggest pinnacle for me," she said.