Deshler girls basketball coach Jana Killen, already the state’s all-time leader in girls basketball wins, won her 919th game Saturday night, tying former Perry County boys coach Eugene Mason for most wins by either a boys or girls coach in AHSAA history.

She and the Tigers beat Class 7A Florence 54-47 for the milestone win. Deshler is 22-3 this season.

Killen can become the all-time leader by herself if her team beats Hatton on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Jailyn Davis had 15 points and Kacie Nelson added 11 for the Tigers in the win. Deshler clinched the victory thanks to a dominating pressure defense and some clutch free-

Mason served as R.C. Hatch’s head coach from 1968-2005, compiling a 919-306 record with seven state titles. He came out of retirement to help Keith High School’s girls program as an assistant coach in 2015. The Bears reached the Class 1A state finals but between the semifinal win and championship game, Mason suffered a heart attack at a team practiced and passed away.

Killen is 919-257 overall for a 78.1 winning percentage as the Deshler girls’ basketball coach. That ranks 21st in the NFHS National Record Book. She ranked sixth, however, among active coaches nationally heading into this season.

Killen, who has coached Deshler’s girls to eight state basketball titles, also has guided Deshler’s volleyball program over the same period to a 1,063-492 record overall. She is the only coach listed by the NFHS, however, with more than 900 basketball wins and more than 1,000 volleyball wins. The Deshler gymnasium floor is now named in her honor.

The NFHS Record Book shows records through the 2022-23 season, however. The overall national girls’ high school basketball wins leader is Leta Andrews, who finished her coaching career in 2014 at Granbury (TX). She was 1,416-355 over a career that spanned from 1962-2014.

The national record for girls’ basketball coaching wins at one school is owned by Joe Lombard, who led Canyon (TX) to 1,379 wins in a career that spanned from 1978-2020. His teams only lost 133 for a national record 91.2 winning percentage. Killen currently ranks 10th nationally for most wins at one school.

A total of 15 coaches are listed with more than 1,000 girls’ basketball wins in the NFHS Record Book.