South Carolina opens its 2026-27 season in Paris on Monday against Maryland, with French natives Alicia Tournebize and Justine Loubens on the Gamecocks’ roster. The trip brings the sophomores and freshman, respectively, onto a court in their home country as teammates for the first time. The top-ranked team left after a 6 a.m. practice on Oct. 28 for the nearly 4,500-mile journey from Columbia.
A Return Trip With Personal Stakes
South Carolina will face Maryland on Monday at Adidas Arena, part of what gamecocksonline.com describes as the team's return to Paris to open its 2026-27 season. The Gamecocks beat Notre Dame 100-71 in Paris in 2023, a win that, per the Greenville News, began a 38-game winning streak and preceded a national championship. This time, South Carolina arrives ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, according to herecolumbia.com, which reported that Dawn Staley's team drew 23 of the 31 first-place votes — the program's fifth preseason No. 1 ranking in the last seven years.
The opponent's ranking is murkier than the Gamecocks' own. Herecolumbia.com and the Greenville News have each referenced different numbers for Maryland's preseason slot, with one report placing the Terrapins at No. 17 and another at No. 20; the exact figure hasn't been settled between the two accounts. What is clear, per the same reporting, is that South Carolina has reached every Final Four since the 2020-21 season and won two national titles in that run, and that this season alone brings 15 games against teams in the preseason poll, including two meetings with Oklahoma and 19 total dates against top-42 opponents.
Tournebize and Loubens Make It Personal
South Carolina's roster now includes two French natives: Alicia Tournebize, a sophomore who joined the program from Bourges and reached the NCAA championship game with the Gamecocks last season, according to basketeurope.com, and Justine Loubens, a freshman who signed with South Carolina last April. Both were born in 2007, per the same French outlet. Staley herself has roots in the country — she played for Tarbes Gespe Bigorre in France between college and her WNBA draft, and she attended the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Staley had previously said she hoped “we have a French player on our roster to take home,” speaking to thestate.com. She has also described the 2023 Paris trip as a positive experience and said this visit gives the team a chance to experience Tournebize and Loubens' home country. Staley has framed the event as a showcase of opportunities for women from other countries to study and play in the United States. Associate head coach Lisa Boyer has described having two French players on the roster as a coincidence rather than a deliberate pursuit.
From a 5,000-Seat Hall to a Bigger Stage
South Carolina's first Paris game, in 2023, was played at Halle Georges Carpentier, a venue with a capacity of 5,009 people — a sharp contrast to the Gamecocks' 18,000-seat home at Colonial Life Arena. Oui-Play expanded into a four-team event and moved to Adidas Arena last year. South Carolina Athletics describes Adidas Arena as a 9,000-seat venue, while other reporting has listed its capacity at 8,000 people; the City of Paris describes it as having nearly 8,000 seats. Complete Sports Management runs Oui-Play and also organizes international football and men's and women's college basketball games more broadly.
This year's doubleheader pairs South Carolina against Maryland before Oklahoma and North Carolina play, according to umterps.com. International rosters run deep on both ends of the bracket: Maryland has three international players, North Carolina has three, and Oklahoma has four, including one from Draveil, a town roughly 11 miles south of central Paris. The format mirrors how the event has scaled since UCLA and Louisville played in the 2024 edition at Adidas Arena alongside USC and Ole Miss, per uclabruins.com.
A Paris event with a growing footprint
The Greenville News reported that South Carolina’s 2023 Paris trip was the first NCAA regular-season basketball game played in France—a precedent distinct from Monday’s game against Maryland. According to South Carolina Athletics, Oui-Play began in 2023 and had developed into a doubleheader at Adidas Arena by the 2026 edition.
The Greenville News reported that players from France make up 13 percent of South Carolina’s 2026-27 roster. That figure describes the French presence on this team; it does not establish a broader trend in international participation across women’s college basketball.
New Faces, First Trip Abroad
Forward Joyce Edwards, who has played international basketball for USA Basketball, said she was excited and honored to play in Paris. Guard Agot Makeer, who has represented Canada internationally, is making the trip alongside Edwards; neither player had visited Paris before. Staley has described the journey as a business trip, even as it brings two French-born players back to the country where they learned the game.
