Alicia Tournebize is part of this latest wave of hoopers from France. The 17-year-old women’s basketball phenom will very soon be a household name if she keeps dunking all over her opponents.
This kind of thing does not happen often in women’s hoops!!
Tournebize has basketball in her blood as the daughter of five-time French League champion Isabelle Fijalkowski. Her aunt, Brigitte Tournebize, also played professionally in France. She was destined for greatness on the hardwood since birth. And it appears as though she will be the best of the three!
Alicia Tournebize is a pro.
Born on July 21, 2017, Tournebize joined the youth system of French club JA Vichy at age six. She later switched to Tango Bourges in the French League starting with U15 and worked her way up to the professional roster on a “training-intern contract” earlier this year.
It was a very big step toward the rest of her career— which will presumably lead her one day to the WNBA. Maybe sooner than later.
Alicia Tournebize won’t stop dunking in the meantime!
France’s 17-year-old women’s basketball phenom gets up.
Technically speaking, she became the first documented French woman to dunk in an official game in September 2024. However, it was not until February that someone finally caught it on film.
Tournebize went extremely viral back in April with an effortless dunk during pregame. It is rare to see a woman dunk with such ease, let alone at 17 years old at (only) 6-foot-4.
That leads us to her most recent feat.
Get out of the way!
Team France closed out a dominant 25-point win over Belgium to claim the bronze medal at the FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket. The international tournament effectively serves as the European championships.
Its star center finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting (including one three-pointer), 12 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. Belgium did not have an answer for Alicia Tournebize.
The most impressive play of the game came during the fourth quarter. Tournebize got out in front of the defense on a fast break, dribbled the length of the court and skied for a monster two-handed dunk.
The haters are going to mock women’s basketball for celebrating a dunk. I get it. Men throw down all the time. That’s cool. Women don’t.
There have been a total of 37 dunks by eight different players in WNBA history. Brittney Griner leads the league with 27 of those 37. The other seven women combined for 10 dunks total.
It will not be long before Alicia Tournebize becomes the eighth. Actually, the ninth! 19-year-old rookie Dominique Malonga is probably going to beat her to it. She also happens to be French.
I don’t know what is in the water over in La République (outside of the Seine) but it certainly seems to produce female dunking sensations. Tournebize is next up!