Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography
How Stepping Away Helped Fliss Henderson Come Back from a Stress Fracture
12/28/2025 9:03:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Henderson didn’t play her sophomore year, but she’s been indispensable as a junior
When Fliss Henderson got to Columbia for her freshman year in late summer 2023, she shrugged off the fact that her back was hurting. After all, she'd flown all the way from her home in Australia — a long enough journey to make anyone sore. "It'll go away," she thought to herself.
But a few weeks into preseason workouts, Henderson's back was sore enough that she decided she needed to get it checked out. After the tests came back, head coach Megan Griffith called Henderson.
"'You know you have scoliosis, right?'" Henderson remembers Griffith asking. "And I was like, 'Nope, did not know that.'"
But that was only the first medical surprise Henderson would have during her first year in the United States. She played in all 30 games as a first-year, but in an end-of-season check-up, doctors discovered a stress fracture in her back. It would be nearly 600 days before Henderson played another game for the Lions.
Now a junior, Henderson is thriving, despite missing an entire season and shifting from the frontcourt to the perimeter. Her versatility is making her — and Columbia as a whole — a matchup nightmare for opponents.
"Talk about getting, like, an all-conference transfer. That's how good she is," Griffith told The IX Basketball in October about the impact of Henderson's return. "… She will prove to be extremely indispensable and valuable. … There's players that the temperature changes when they walk in a room, and she's one of those."
Click here to read the full article at The IX Basketball.
"'You know you have scoliosis, right?'" Henderson remembers Griffith asking. "And I was like, 'Nope, did not know that.'"
But that was only the first medical surprise Henderson would have during her first year in the United States. She played in all 30 games as a first-year, but in an end-of-season check-up, doctors discovered a stress fracture in her back. It would be nearly 600 days before Henderson played another game for the Lions.
Now a junior, Henderson is thriving, despite missing an entire season and shifting from the frontcourt to the perimeter. Her versatility is making her — and Columbia as a whole — a matchup nightmare for opponents.
"Talk about getting, like, an all-conference transfer. That's how good she is," Griffith told The IX Basketball in October about the impact of Henderson's return. "… She will prove to be extremely indispensable and valuable. … There's players that the temperature changes when they walk in a room, and she's one of those."
Click here to read the full article at The IX Basketball.
Highlights: WBK | Columbia 70, UTSA 65
Saturday, December 20
Postgame: WBK | Henderson, Avlijas on Win vs. UTSA
Saturday, December 20
Highlights: WBK | Columbia 54, Seton Hall 53
Tuesday, December 09
Postgame: WBK | Page on Win at Seton Hall
Tuesday, December 09
