The Whitewater Wildcats, Fayette County Tigers and Starr’s Mill Panthers consistently vie for the title of the top cat in town.

It might be time to add another team to the mix, the Our Lady of Mercy Bobcats, particularly after they defeated Whitewater for the first time in school history Friday, 61-53 in Fairburn.

“It’s a big win because we haven’t beaten those guys before,” Mercy coach Tony Caruso said. “They’re a good team. We’re kind of the small school in the county. Hopefully this win gives us some recognition and some credibility that we are good program.”

The Whitewater Lady Wildcats won the early game, withstanding a late comeback by Mercy for a 40-32 victory.

In the boys game, Whitewater (1-4) led by as many as 10, 25-15 in the second quarter. But Dominique McDermott sank two free throws to hand Mercy (2-0) its first lead of the game, 38-36, with 1:56 left in the third quarter.

Whitewater came back and pulled to within one, 44-43, on a fadeaway 3-pointer by Kody Hastings with 5:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, but that’s as close as the Wildcats would get.

Mercy's Nnamdi Moh and Richie Obiora were a lethal combination in the final five minutes, scoring eight and six points, respectively.

Moh led all scorers with 24 points, and Obiora had 16.

Jamal Washington scored 14 points to lead Whitewater. Justin Smith and Hastings both scored 10 for the Wildcats.

Whitewater’s sharp-shooting guard, Jackie Gittins, had the hot hand in the girls game, scoring a game-high 18 points, including five 3-pointers.

“She’s definitely a good spot-up shooter for us,” Whitewater coach Kirk Call said of Gittins. “I tell Jackie that wherever the ball is in the post, I want her following it so she can be in position to shoot.”

The Lady Wildcats (1-2) led by as many as 20 (33-13) late in the third quarter, but the feisty Lady Bobcats (0-2) made a tremendous fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring Whitewater 17-6.

Mercy trimmed Whitewater’s double-digit lead all the way down to eight on a layup by Kelly Tolcher, but her basket came with 2.6 seconds remaining, and Whitewater was able to hold on for the victory.

Mercy was led by Camille Thompson, who scored 12 points, and Tolcher, who scored nine.