VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com, photo courtesy of VCSUVikings.com)  Tournament time is not the time it should all go wrong for you, and all go right for your opponent.

For the Viking women, that was the story Wednesday night in the opening round of the NSAA tournament.

Dickinson State, who struggled from the three-point line in the previous three meetings between the two teams, shot 10-21 from beyond, with Kayden Steele hitting five of nine three-point attempts, while Bluehawk post Sam Oase finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, as Dickinson State upset the third-seeded Vikings 84-70 at the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

While all was going well for Dickinson State, nothing went well for the Vikings.  Ashlyn Diemert, who was the heart of the Viking offense the second half of the season, shot 3-19 from the field, while the Vikings were 5-24 from the three-point line in the loss.

The opening half saw the Viking game unravel.  An early 10-0 run by the Bluehawks, sparked by Steele hitting two threes during the run, was part of the Hawks hitting four early from beyond, building a 24-15 lead after one.

Meanwhile, Diemert missed her first seven shots from the field, and the lack of Viking offense allowed the Bluehawks to stretch the lead in the second.  Hannah LaBree stroked a pair of additional three-point shots, and Steele added two field goals, leading to a Dickinson State 33-15 lead, their largest first-half margin.

A late spark delivered the Vikings momentum.  Diemert hit her first field goal inside of two minutes remaining in the half, but followed it with a quick three, and Adriana Torres scored in transition just in front of the horn, and the Vikings trimmed the lead to 43-32 at half.

The Vikings were able to cut the lead to nine early, but Steele would connect on two additional threes, Heather LaBree would add another, with the Bluehawks hitting nine of their first 16 opportunities from beyond.  Oase then cranked her big night into high gear, scoring 19 of her 27 after halftime.  The lead grew to 23 before a late Viking spark in the fourth trimmed the lead for the finish.

Steele ended with 21 points for Dickinson State.  Hailey Roberts paced the Vikings with 17 points.  Torres is the lone senior on the Viking roster that will be lost to graduation.  She finishes with previous All-NSAA honors.  The Viking season comes to an end at 13-14 overall.