It’s never too late.

The ISU women’s basketball team doubled its first-half points with 11:21 left in the second, and won a slow-starting 56-46 battle against Colorado on Senior Night.

“We were playing good defense but just struggling offensively,” said ISU guard Lyndsey Medders. “We knew we’d catch fire at the half.”

After garnering its lowest first-half point total of the season with 17, the Cyclones (16-11, 7-9 Big 12) roared back in the second with a blistering 23-1 run. That surge catapulted the team to a 15-point lead, and Iowa State never looked back on the way to its seventh conference win.

“We guarded hard enough in the first half, which helped our effort in the second,” said ISU coach Bill Fennelly. “We really played solid and that gave us some momentum.”

Senior Brittany Wilkins made the earliest impact for her team with the first six points, followed by the team’s first 3-pointer from freshman forward Nicky Wieben.

Colorado (9-20, 3-13) got six quick points from leading scorer Jackie McFarland, but Iowa State’s defense kept her quiet for the rest of the half.

McFarland, who is averaging 17.6 points per game, was a small factor against the Cyclones with 13 points.

Iowa State’s sub-par ball handling and shot selection gave the team only a 21.9 percent average from the floor at the half, which Colorado led 23-17 after shooting 40 percent.

The team responded in the second half with the run that would ultimately put the Cyclones up for good.

Wilkins was the catalyst for the run, scoring six buckets on her way to a game-high 22 points.

The rest of the team responded with threes from Heather Ezell and Medders, who finished with 15 in the contest.

“We’ve been down at half before and we’re known to come back and play better in the second,” Wilkins said. “Once we got the ball rolling and the crowd going, our enthusiasm fed off of that.”

Sophomore Lisa Bildeaux executed a spectacular defensive night with 13 defensive rebounds, while Wilkins chipped in eight and two blocked shots. Megan Ronhovde notched nine boards, including five offensively.

“I’m proud of how we finished,” Fennelly said. “We got loosened up, and in the tempo of the game had enough of a working margin to get the win.”

The Buffaloes were led by senior Whitney Law with 20 points, and McFarland and Caley Down each nabbed six rebounds. Iowa State outrebounded Colorado 42-31 and committed five fewer turnovers on the night.

Each team suffered from cold shooting, with Iowa State finishing at 35.1 percent from the floor and Colorado at 35.4 percent. Fennelly said the win wasn’t how he would have pictured it, but it was a sweet ending to two devoted Iowa State careers.

“I never thought I’d be excited to see 35 percent shooting,” he said. “The kids sensed Britt [Wilkins] was the one who was hot and got her the ball, and it was a nice way for the seniors to finish their careers here.”