Time dwindled and still Lindsey Wilson stalled. Not that she couldn’t afford to.

Her team led 45-33 Wednesday night at Drake, and Wilson, ISU’s point guard, had just hit one three-pointer from the top of the key two possessions ago, and now, as time ticked away in the first half, the Drake fans shouted in a frenzy, and Wilson waited.

Under 20 seconds, under 15 now, and Wilson passed, finally, to senior Tracy Gahan on the right wing.

Wilson slipped behind a screen, got the ball from Gahan on the left wing, and drained a deep three.

So deep, Wilson had to first untangle herself from Drake’s bench before running back down the court, then running to the locker room with 21 points and a 15 point lead as the half came to a close.

“Lindsey Wilson was the name of the game in the first half,” Bulldog head coach Lisa Stone said.

“Wham! Wilson hit a long three from the top of the key. Another three in front of me …”

“Lindsey’s three-point shot when she ended up in the Drake bench, that certainly wasn’t the knockout punch, but they were pretty rubber-legged,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said.

Truth be told, it wasn’t Wilson alone who won the Cyclones’ fifth game of the year.

Gahan and center Angie Welle scored 19 each. Wilson poured in a game-high 28, and the “Big Three” as they were affectionately called by Stone, scored 66 of the Cyclones’ 90 points.

“It was a great effort out of those three,” Fennelly said.

Iowa State’s 30 point win on Wednesday was preceded by a one point victory last Tuesday in Creighton, 75-74.

Yes, the Drake win had carry-over from Creighton, Gahan said. “I think a lot of teams were questioning `Are we really No. 5 in the country?’ “

The answer from Stone was an emphatic yes.

“Our team wants to be in the Sweet 16. Iowa State goes to the Sweet 16 … You use Iowa State as a measuring stick,” she said.

And Wilson, Stone said, is a player for all to be measured against.

“She’s by far the best point guard we’ve seen,” Stone said. “She’s the catalyst and she’s going to take that team to great things.”

The Cyclones play next at Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.