Auburn's 12-year WNBA Draft drought is over, and it took someone Unique to do it.
Unique Thompson was selected by the Indiana Fever in the second round of Thursday's WNBA Draft.
With her selection, Thompson becomes Auburn's ninth-ever WNBA draft pick and is the first Auburn player drafted since DeWanna Bonner and Whitney Boddie were drafted in 2009.
Thompson made an immediate impact during her time at Auburn.
During her freshman year, the Theodore, Alabama, native started in 27 of 29 games. She finished the season as the Tigers' leading rebounder with 8.4 rebounds per game and was the team's third-leading scorer with 11.5 points per game en route to being named to the SEC's All-Freshman team.
The following season, Thompson started in all 32 games and was the first Auburn player to average a double-double since 1993, making her the fifth player in program history to record the feat. She finished the season averaging 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and helped Auburn to a 22-10 overall record with a 9-7 record in the SEC.
The Tigers went on to reach the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the round of 64 to BYU.
Thompson's junior and senior seasons proved to be record-breaking. The forward set the program record for career double-doubles as a junior and as a senior became the program leader in career rebounds.
Thompson passed DeWanna Bonner for most career double-doubles and finished with 58 total. Bonner finished her Auburn career with 40 double-doubles.
The rebounding record was previously held by Becky Jackson, who played for the Tigers from 1980-84 and finished her career with 1,118 career rebounds. Thompson finished her career at Auburn with 1,156.
In both seasons, she once again averaged a double-double, becoming the first player in program history to average a double-double for three consecutive seasons.
Following a junior season where she averaged 16.2 points and 11.4 rebounds in 29 games, Thompson was named first-team All-SEC and was an All-American honorable mention by the Associated Press.
In her final season, Thompson averaged a team-leading 17.6 points and 12.8 rebounds in 21 games. At the end of the season, she was recognized as a member of the All-SEC second team.
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Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
