Janae Howard helped the University of Louisville's women's basketball team to the national championship game as a freshman. If reports of her departure from the Lady Cards are true, Western Kentucky University fans are hoping she can help bring similar success to the Lady Toppers.

Both the Courier-Journal and the Bowling Green Daily News reported Tuesday that Howard's leaving UofL for WKU.

"I'm going to enroll in the July session (of school) at Western," Howard told the Courier-Journal. "I am looking for a fresh start and a new beginning."

UofL hasn't issued a release about Howard, but Lady Cards coach Jeff Walz confirmed to the Courier-Journal that Howard's been released.

Officials at WKU can't comment on Howard until she enrolls at the university.

The 6-foot-1 Howard was a star at Owensboro High School, earning Kentucky All-Star honors after averaging 26.4 points and 9.8 rebounds her senior year and ranked as a top-50 player nationally by some services. She played in 33 of 39 games for UofL as a freshman, averaging 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds a game. She shot 43.5 percent from three-point range, best on the team among players with at least 40 attempts.

Howard would have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2009-10 season.