Familiarity with an opponent is a novelty in high school girls basketball when the calendar has barely turned to December.

And yet the Baldwinsville girls basketball team found itself at Rome Free Academy last Saturday, already playing the Black Knights for the second time in as many week.

They had met Nov. 24 in the finals of the Bill Middleton Tip-Off Tournament at Baker High School, and the Bees won a 69-62 thriller. Now they clashed on the Black Knights’ home court.

Even in a different venue, though, the result was the same, B’ville coming out on top 61-48 in large measure due to what it did during the third quarter.

All through the first half, things stayed close, with the defenses in top form and the Bees going to the break trailing 25-24. That did not last long.

Finally, the Bees’ pressure wore RFA down as, in the third period, it converted those Black Knights mistakes into baskets on the other end, not letting up until it had gone on a 19-4 dash.

All game long, RFA hacked at Katie Pascale, and the senior guard made them pay for it. Pascale hit on an incredible 16 free throws to account for most of her 20 points.

Far more proficient from the field, Jordan Roy had 12 points, with Alex Bednarczyk adding nine points and Sydney Huhtala finishing with eight points. For the Black Knights, Anastacia Wells had 12 points, with Kelsey McCaskill (11 points) and Jace Hunzinger (nine points) close behind.

This busy opening stretch for the Bees culminates in a Tuesday clash with visiting Cicero-North Syracuse, a key early contest within the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division.