Woodbridge’s Joens, Caine Transferring

Woodbridge’s Cathy Joens and Debby Caine, two of the county’s top returning girls’ basketball players, have left one of the county’s leading programs.

Joens, a 5-foot-10 junior forward who was a Times all-county second-team player, has enrolled at Calvary Chapel. Caine, a sophomore point guard who averaged 7.2 assists, has enrolled at San Clemente.

They are among several of the county’s leading players who will change uniforms during the next school year.

Huntington Beach’s Erica Waetjen, a 5-9 senior forward, will also attend Calvary Chapel. University’s Monique Mathews, a 5-11 senior forward, is playing with Capistrano Valley and plans to enroll. Bianca Larson, a 6-2 junior center, has left Mater Dei for Villa Park.

But Woodbridge, ranked third in the county last season, took the biggest hit.

“I didn’t have fun on the team and I didn’t like how [Pat Quinn] coached,” Caine said. “My best friend, Cathy Joens, left, too, and I thought it was best for me to leave because I didn’t like the atmosphere around there.”

Joens’ father, Tim, said his daughter transferred “because she wanted to attend a Christian school.” Four of the seven Joens children will attend Christian schools this fall, although a son, Matthew, will be a sophomore at Woodbridge.

Joens and Caine are the third high-profile players to leave the Woodbridge program since Quinn took over two years ago. Erin Stovall, ranked among the best players in the nation, moved to Hawaii for her final year after playing one season for Quinn.

“One minute, winning is fun, the next minute, that’s not enough,” said Quinn, whose team won a state title in 1996 but went 22-5 and lost in its second playoff game in 1997. “Nowadays, athletes are looking for a lot of different things and it’s hard to provide sometimes.

“There’s more to this game than just playing basketball anymore. Everyone is trying to help themselves, and if they think that’s the best move for them, that’s the move they’ll make.”