A LaShawna Thomas three with 1.2 seconds left capped off an 8-1 run over the final 2:24 as the Wright State women's basketball team won a 77-76 thriller over Loyola in Horizon League action Saturday afternoon at the C.J. McLin Gymnasium.

Both teams were on fire in the early going as Loyola hit four three-pointers in the first 2:03 of the contest, only to see WSU tie it at 20 on a Molly Fox basket at the 11:30 mark. Two threes from KC Elkins and one by Maria Bennett put the Raiders up 31-26, a margin that was maintained the rest of the half as Wright State took a 42-37 halftime lead.

The Ramblers shot 47 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including five of 11 from behind the arc, while WSU shot 44 percent overall and five of 15 from three. The Raiders, though, had a 9-2 edge in second-chance points thanks to a 24-13 rebounding advantage, 10-3 on the offensive end.

Loyola again started the second half on fire, scoring the first eight points in just 1:30 to go back out in front. Six straight Fox points, however, gave Wright State the lead again and the margin grew to 61-51 on another basket by the junior forward at the 11:49 mark.

The Ramblers stormed back, though, with a 19-2 run over the next five minutes, a run that featured five three-pointers, to lead 70-63. A Katie Kortekamp triple made it 73-65 with 4:33 to go and Loyola was still up 75-69 on a Abby Skube layup with 3:09 remaining.

Two Thomas foul shots started WSU on its comeback and after Shaunda Sandifer hit one of two at the stripe with 1:17 left, two free throws by Courtney Boyd at the 32.6-second mark made ti 75-74.

Monica Albano hit one of two foul shots with 30.3 seconds left and Loyola looked to be in control as a technical foul at the 14.7-second mark gave the Ramblers two foul shots and the ball.

Loyola, however, came up empty on both attempts and despite getting the offensive rebound on the second miss, the margin remained one on another missed free throw with 7.1 seconds to go.

That set the stage for Thomas as she dribble along the right side, stopped and popped the game-winning three from the right wing with 1.2 seconds left.

The Ramblers shot 45 percent for the game, including an impressive 13 of 25 from three, compared to 40 percent for the Raiders, who were eight of 29 from behind the arc. Wright State, though, finished with 11 more attempts thanks to dominating the boards by a 55-31 count, 23-6 on the offensive end, which also resulted in a 18-2 differential in second-chance points.

Both teams struggled at the foul line as the Raiders were 11 of 20 while Loyola was seven of 14, but just three of nine the final 20 minutes.

Fox paced all scorers as she posted a double-double of 26 points, 17 in the second half, and 11 rebounds while Thomas added 24 points and eight rebounds and Bennett chipped in 13 points and four assists. Sandifer collected 16 rebounds.

Four starters scored in double figures for Loyola (9-11, 3-6 Horizon), led Brittany Boeke's near double-double of 18 points and nine rebounds. Skube had 15, Albano 14 and Lindsey Sebetic 13 with the fifth starter, Kortekamp, dishing out nine assists in scoring six points.

Wright State (13-7, 6-3 Horizon) hits the road for two games in Indiana next week, taking on Valparaiso on Thursday, February 3, at 8:00 Eastern followed by a 2:00 matchup at Butler on Saturday, February 5.