Armed with the experience of facing South Carolina a little more than a month ago, Matthew Mitchell could alter his game plan to reverse a 68-59 result in Columbia, S.C.Similarly, Dawn Staley could change the approach of her Gamecock team to catch Kentucky off guard in a rematch in Memorial Coliseum.The two coaches could, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it.”They won’t see a whole lot different from us and I doubt we see a whole lot different from them,” Mitchell said. “We just need to play better than we did over there.”If the last week is any indication, it seems reasonable to expect No. 15/15 UK (19-6, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) will do just that on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.The Wildcats are fresh off their first 2-0 week in SEC play, a week that included an upset of Tennessee on Sunday. The win over the Lady Volunteers — UK’s first in Knoxville, Tenn., since 1985 — proved that Mitchell had good reason for keeping the faith that his team is capable of making noise the rest of the season.He spent last week reminding the Cats of what they accomplished in starting nonconference play 11-0, showing tape of UK’s memorable victories over top-10 opponents Louisville and Baylor. With another such win now in the much more recent past, that confidence Mitchell worked to build goes to another level.”It’s just like a boost,” junior guard Bria Goss said. “We knew we could do it and we’ve shown people that we can do it and now we just gotta go out there and do it.”No. 4 South Carolina (23-2, 11-1 SEC) won’t make that easy. The Gamecocks have reeled off seven straight wins in SEC play behind a dominant defense that allows just 53.9 points per game. South Carolina’s only loss in conference came on the road against top-25 Texas A&M by just two points, and in overtime to boot.”We have great battles and they certainly have brought out the best in us over the years and I think it’s developed into a good rivalry,” Mitchell said.UK and South Carolina have split their last six matchups with each one decided by single digits. That means Thursday will be a challenge, but one the Cats think they need.”I think it’s really good that we face somebody as good as South Carolina at a time like this to really see where we are,” Goss said.The first time around, UK wasn’t ready to cope with South Carolina’s physical defense for 40 minutes. In that game, the Cats charged out to an early lead before going ice cold from the field. They shot a then-season-low 31.5 percent, putting them in a 22-point hole that a late rally could not overcome.”I think it was because of us, because of our shot selection,” Goss said. “But we’re a whole different team from when we played them a little (more) than a month ago, so I’m really excited.”With DeNesha Stallworth back at full strength, UK looks different from a personnel perspective though their approach remains the same. The loss at South Carolina was the senior forward’s second game back following a knee injury that sidelined her for a month. With 11 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes, she played well given the circumstances at South Carolina, but Stallworth is at another level now.”She’s a completely different player now, playing with a lot of confidence, playing with a lot of toughness,” Goss said.Over her last three games, Stallworth is averaging 16.7 points and 11 rebounds.Stallworth’s emergence has corresponded with that of point guard Jennifer O’Neill, the reigning SEC Player of the Week. After the junior scored just 12 points in 32 combined minutes against Georgia and LSU, O’Neill has scored 20 or more points in three consecutive outings.”It’s real simple with Jennifer, we want her to attack off the ball screens and look to score there and we want her down and ready when she doesn’t have the ball, prepared to shoot,” Mitchell said.O’Neill didn’t hesitate to shoot the first time around against South Carolina, but the shots certainly didn’t fall. She was just 1 for 13 on Jan. 9, scoring five points. With the way O’Neill has played of late, Goss isn’t doesn’t see a repeat performance coming.”I’m not expecting 30 points, 40 points, but, you know, for her she’s playing with a lot confidence and she has every right to,” Goss said. “She should feel like every shot’s going in because I know every time she shoots it I know that it’s going in.”It’s no coincidence that Stallworth and O’Neill have played their best basketball since early in the season as the Cats have done the same. It’s also no coincidence that the reasons are the same.”I think just our mindset has changed,” Goss said. “We’re just more aggressive, we’re confident, we’re believing in ourselves, we’re playing as a team and I think that’s really key.”Aggressiveness and confidence will be even more important considering South Carolina’s strength inside. The Gamecocks blocked 14 shots in the first matchup and rank third nationally with 7.1 blocks per game.”I don’t think we did a good job playing through that last time,” Goss said. “But shot-blocking’s part of the game and we just gotta go out there, you know, get your shot blocked, we’ll go get another board or go get a defensive stop or make the stop or something like that.”UK coped well with Tennessee’s length on Sunday and will look to do the same against Elem Ibiam and Co. If they do, the Cats could be celebrating their second top-10 win in five days.”That’d be pretty sweet,” Goss said.