For the third consecutive game, South Carolina expects to play without Ta’Niya Latson and Alicia Tournebize against Arkansas on Thursday.
Both players participated in practice on Wednesday, although neither was a full participant.
“They’re ramping up,” Dawn Staley said.
Staley said “probably not” when asked if either would play. Later, she said Tournebize isn’t ready for game action yet.
Latson suffered a sprained left ankle against Providence when she was driving for a transition layup with 4:18 left in the half. It was unclear on replays if Latson stepped on the defender’s foot or simply took a wrong step, but as she tried to go up for the layup, Latson lost her balance and fell, immediately grabbing her foot in pain.
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Latson wore a boot on her foot against Alabama, but the boot was gone at Florida.
Latson is averaging 16.9 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. She is shooting 51.9% from the floor and 41.7% from three, both career-highs. She is South Carolina’s second-leading scorer and a crucial part of its transition game.
South Carolina announced Tournebize’s signing on December 22, and she was officially released from Tango Bourges on December 24. But delays in getting her documentation process kept Tournebize from arriving in Columbia until the evening of January 1.
Tournebize attended her first practice on Friday, but did not participate. She was seen chatting with Dawn Staley during the portion when the media was allowed in. She traveled with the team to Florida but was not in uniform and did not play, although social media posts showed her on the court during morning shootaround and working out with strength coach Molly Binetti.
Staley said Tournebize has been “great” in practice.
“She’s been a pro,” Staley said. “She understands what she needs to do to come in here and be in the weight room, get a little treatment, come out here and practice a little bit. Not much. She hasn’t practiced a whole lot. We’ll continue to ramp her up. We don’t want to just throw her out there. It’s unfair to her to do that. But at some point, hopefully soon, we’ll get her out there in a game.”
Tournebize is a 6-7 forward from Vichy, France. She averaged 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in the 2025 U18 EuroBasket Tournament. In 2024, she averaged 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in the U17 World Cup.
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Tournebize played professionally for Tango Bourges Basket before committing to South Carolina. She appeared in eight games, averaging 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.6 minutes. Tournebize shot 6-17 and made her only three-point attempt.
Tournebize was playing against grown women, some with WNBA experience, which should help her get up to speed more quickly than a normal freshman coming in out of high school. Staley said that because of Tournebize’s professional experience, she is more mature than the normal 18-year-old.
Staley expects to start working on plays next week when Tournebize is able to practice. Tournebize is the fourth player to enroll midseason under Staley, and the third in the last four seasons. Two, Laeticia Amiher and Adhel Tac, enrolled early because they were injured and wanted to rehab with the Gamecocks’ medical staff.
But Chloe Kitts was healthy and ready to play immediately. She enrolled in December and travelled with the team for a road game against South Dakota State, and then made her debut less than a week after joining the Gamecocks.
South Carolina has started just five games this season with a full compliment of players, and finished just three games.