Jonathan Lintner

@JonathanLintner

Taja Cole, a McDonald's All American guard from Virginia who averaged 15 minutes per game as a freshman, announced Wednesday night she's transferring from the Louisville women's basketball program.

A Virginia native, Cole started six games and appeared in all 34 for the Cardinals, often as a defensively active backup to sophomore Arica Carter at the point.

"With the support of my family & friends & friends I will be transferring from UofL," Cole said in her social media post. "I will miss my teammates. Thanks to all of the awesome fans and the city of Louisville. I'm excited about what the future holds for me. Thank you."

Cole scored 2.9 points per game and tallied 66 assists, with a season-high 5 of them in U of L's regular-season finale, a Feb. 28 win over ACC rival Pittsburgh. But the 5-foot-7 speedster logged just six minutes in Sunday's NCAA tournament loss to DePaul.

"Want to wish her the best," said Cardinals coach Jeff Walz.

In addition to returning Carter, a rising junior, Walz has signed in the 2016 class Sydney Zambrotta, another five-star point guard from New York.