Will Alicia Tournebize make her debut against Texas? What Dawn Staley said
No. 2 South Carolina women’s basketball is set for a heavyweight fight at home with No. 4 Texas on Thursday night.
The game (7 p.m., ESPN2) is expected to be must-see-TV, but there’s one big question leading up to the matchup: Will freshman forward and mid-year roster addition Alicia Tournebize make her highly anticipated debut?
The answer is yes.
“She’ll play,” coach Dawn Staley said Wednesday. “She’ll definitely play.”
Tournebize has been with the Gamecocks for two weeks now. The 6-foot-7 forward originally from Vichy, France signed with South Carolina just before Christmas and arrived in Columbia on New Year’s Day.
She’s traveled with the team to two road games (Florida and Arkansas) and began participating in practices last week. Tournebize warmed up with South Carolina before its matchup with SEC foe Georgia on Sunday but was listed as out on the official SEC injury report and did not play. Staley said she held Tournebize out because she wants her to get more practice time.
On her “Carolina Calls” radio show Monday night, Staley said she was hopeful Tournebize “might” be able to play vs Texas.
“She can’t wait to get out there and represent our team and our university and hopefully, with these next couple of prep days, we might be able to see her on Thursday,” Staley said Monday.
On Wendesday, Staley confirmed Tournebize will play the first minutes of her college career vs. Texas and has “looked good” in practice this week.
Tournebize has a wide-ranging skill set, including the ability to dunk, and provides a boost on both sides of the ball for South Carolina. She most recently played professionally for Tango Bourges Basket of the EuroLeague Women in France where she averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and just under one assist in 7.6 minutes across action in eight games.
Tournebize averaged nearly a double-double (12.1 points and 8.9 rebounds) in seven games for the French national team at the 2025 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket event.
Her debut comes as South Carolina (17-1, 4-0 SEC) tries to avenge its only loss of the season vs. Texas (18-1, 3-0 SEC). The Longhorns beat the Gamecocks 66-64 on Nov. 27 in a non-conference game played in Las Vegas.
“She’s smart, she catches on to things fast,” USC teammate Joyce Edwards said of Tournebize. “Her defense is great. Obviously she can shoot, she can space the floor out. I feel like nobody’s played her, so it’s gonna be hard going against her.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 2:08 PM.
