Valkyries swarm Caitlin Clark — and find a closing five

At the end of her postgame press conference after the Valkyries’ 90-88 revenge win over the Indiana Fever, Natalie Nakase’s eyes quickly scanned the room. “You guys, that was a little different tonight, right?” she asked. That’s probably the closest the serious, tunnel-vision head coach will get to acknowledging something special might be brewing.

Valkyries swarm Caitlin Clark — and find a closing five. At the end of her postgame press conference after the Valkyries’ 90-88 revenge win over the Indiana Fever, Natalie Nakase’s eyes quickly scanned the room. “You guys, that was a little different tonight, right?” she asked. That’s probably the closest the serious, tunnel-vision head coach will get to acknowledging something special might be brewing. Because Thursday night at Chase Center felt different from the opening tip through clutch time, when a new closing lineup emerged. It felt louder — which is hard to top because Ballhalla is always roaring — and meaner. The boos rained down on Caitlin Clark (16 points on 3-for-12 shooting and five turnovers) every single time she held the rock and hunted for contact. The chirps on the court carried over from last week’s 90-82 loss in Indian...