December 15, 2025: On Dec. 14, 2025, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley directs her team during the first half against Penn State at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. - ZUMAm67_ 20251215_zaf_m67_012 Copyright: xTracyxGlantzx
December 15, 2025: On Dec. 14, 2025, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley directs her team during the first half against Penn State at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. - ZUMAm67_ 20251215_zaf_m67_012 Copyright: xTracyxGlantzx
The South Carolina Gamecocks now have not one, but two French players on the team. The only problem, according to coach Dawn Staley, is that they're roommates.
French guard Justine Loubens is the latest addition to the team. She joined in April 2026 and speaks very little English. To make it worse, her roommate is the only other French player on the team, Alicia Tournebize.
"What it does is stifles Justine's ability to learn more English 'cause I'm sure they live together they speak only French," Staley told WACH Fox's Claire Foley.
"We should have put an English-speaking roommate with Justine just like Ali (Alicia Tournebize). Ali's English got better when it was only her. Justine's trying, but basketball's universal and she's picked up things nicely, " she further added speaking to Foley.
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: Queens University of Charlotte at South Carolina Nov 23, 2025 Columbia, South Carolina, USA South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley directs her team against the Queens Royals in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Columbia Colonial Life Arena South Carolina USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffxBlakex 20251123_neb_ay3_0027
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: Queens University of Charlotte at South Carolina Nov 23, 2025 Columbia, South Carolina, USA South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley directs her team against the Queens Royals in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Columbia Colonial Life Arena South Carolina USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffxBlakex 20251123_neb_ay3_0027
Now that she's joined the team, Justine Loubens is the 15th player to be added to the roster. The 19-year-old most recently played for La Roche Vendée Basket Club in France, where she averaged 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds, shooting 63.9% from the field in her last 24 games.
She joined the Gamecocks on April 29, 2026, with an eligibility of four years. This wasn't the first time Coach Staley praised her.
Staley has previously gone on record calling Loubens "one of the best shooters coming out of France," according to The State. Clearly, her being on the team is no accident.
How Justine Loubens made it to Dawn Staley's team
Alicia Tournebize joined the South Carolina Gamecocks back in December 2025. In her very first season, she averaged 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.
This set things up for Justine Loubens too. Tournebize and Loubens were actually teammates on the French National Team. The two represented the nation at the 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket and the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup.
In fact, Loubens averaged 11.3 points per game in the latter, which was rather impressive. Loubens' agent reportedly contacted Dawn Staley after she recruited Tournebize to the team.
Later, the French National Team’s head coach, Jean-Aimé Toupane, went to South Carolina to meet Tournebize. He saw how far she'd come along in her basketball journey, and that set things in motion for Loubens too.
"When their national team coach came to visit Alicia for a weekend, and he just saw her progression, saw the type of program we ran because he came to a few of our practices, it became a lot easier to recruit Justine," Staley told The State in June 2026.
Now, the French nationals are a part of the team and have become teammates for the third time in a row.
Written by
Prit Chauhan