Last week was an interesting one for UK Hoops.It began with a historic win at Tennessee, the program’s first since 1985. Next was a lopsided home defeat at the hands of Southeastern Conference-leading South Carolina. To finish it up, UK took down No. 16/13 Texas A&M on the road.The up-and-down eight-day stretch begged a question. “Can we get some consistency going?” UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “Because that’s really important. We’ve been winning one, losing one, winning one and losing one. That’s certainly not what we want to do tomorrow night.”With two games left in the regular season – starting in Starkville, Miss., at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday — the Wildcats are looking to put together a winning streak. Wins over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt would assure UK (20-7, 8-6 SEC) of a double bye in the SEC Tournament — certainly motivation enough — but that’s not why the games are so important in Mitchell’s mind.”I think still what we’re trying to focus on is this team really rounding into form and being its best,” Mitchell said. “We’re getting close to a part of the season, if you win one then lose one, your season is over, so we’re trying to build some consistency here at the end of the season.”In search of that consistency, Mitchell is asking for steadiness from individual players.First on the list is Makayla Epps, who has emerged late in the season as an option at point guard. In the loss to South Carolina, Epps was one of UK’s lone bright spots, posting a career-high 16 points. She followed that up with 11 points, four assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers against Texas A&M.”She did a really good job on Sunday, so now what you’re looking for is some consistency and you need to bounce back with another good game,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be another big challenge just like it was in College Station. We’ll just see if she can build on the performance.”Looking to do the same will be Jelleah Sidney, who had seven points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks as part of an unconventional crunch-time lineup against the Aggies that also featured freshmen Epps and Linnae Harper.”You know Jelleah can make plays, you know she can do some things of great value we just need her to do those things consistently well,” Mitchell said. “What I always love about her is her energy and her effort. She sure gave us that on Sunday and she’ll have to tomorrow night. This will be a tough, tough game for us.”Mississippi State (18-10, 5-9 SEC) has Mitchell’s undivided attention, clearly. The Bulldogs are 13-3 on their home floor and have been competitive throughout SEC play. Of their nine losses in conference, all but one has come by 10 points or fewer and two in overtime.”Mississippi State has been really good at home this year,” Mitchell said. “They are a very aggressive defensive team, really hard-nosed and tough competitors, make it difficult on you to score and one of the real premier frontcourts in the league.”