Woman needs long time grasping point (5)
I believe the answer is:
agnes
'woman' is the definition.
'long time grasping point' is the wordplay.
'long time' becomes 'ages' (I've seen this before).
'grasping' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are held or grasped).
'point' becomes 'n' (North).
'ages' going around 'n' is 'AGNES'.
'needs' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for agnes that I've seen before include "Girl's name" , "Woman" , "Patron saint of virgins" , "Miss Grey" , "St --' Eve, poem by Lord Tennyson" .)