INDIANAPOLIS | Lisa Samplawski was going through warm-ups on Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse and looked across the court at the ladies in blue from Kentucky. The Indiana All-Star from Portage gulped.

"I knew right away," Samplawski said. "As soon as we walked out for warm-ups I just knew. They were athletic and had great speed. I saw one of their girls take another one to the hole and I knew we were in trouble."

Kentucky snapped a five-game losing streak with a resounding 76-59 win, taking the first game in the World Series of High School Basketball. Indiana will get a chance to even the series on Sunday at the Louisville Gardens.

The stat sheet said it all. Indiana had 20 first-half turnovers and 27 for the game. Kentucky outrebounded the taller Hoosiers 59-41, and the defense held Indiana to 29 percent shooting (21-of-72) for the game.

Indiana had won 24 of the last 30 games against Kentucky and hadn't lost in Indiana since 1992.

"Oh good," Samplawski said when hearing the news.

"That makes us feel better," said Twin Lakes guard and Valparaiso recruit Betsy Adams.

The two All-Stars with Porter County ties did their best to keep Indiana in the game coming out of halftime down 34-24. With 12:11 left, Adams hit a 3-pointer to get the score to 47-35. At 10:24, Samplawski hit a jumper to keep the margin at 12.

After an Indiana stop, Kentucky got one of its 19 steals, made the basket and was fouled, converting the free throw. But a pass to Miss Basketball Brittany Rayburn hit her hands and went out of bounds.

The Purdue-bound guard was 3-for-12 from the field and only scored eight points.

"A lot of times they wanted the ball a whole lot better than we did," Indiana coach Kem Zolman said. "We've got to make adjustments to their speed."

Kentucky coach Sally Zimmerman gave her talented squad a quiz before their mini-camp. The question none of them answered correctly was: When was the last time Kentucky swept Indiana?

"It was 1991, our girls were 1 year old," she said. "We wanted a sweep and now we're halfway there."

Indiana now leads the series 36-29.

Alex Guyton led Indiana with 12 points and seven rebounds. Maggie Boyer and Deja Mattox added 10 points each. Adams had three points , two rebounds and two steals. Samplawski scored two with two rebounds.

"Yeah, they're quicker than us but it all comes down to heart," Samplawski said. "We've got to go to Louisville and want it more than they do."

Schererville resident Kim Yelich was an official in the game. Indiana All-Star game director Pete Smith asked her, and the two-time state finalist referee jumped at the chance to work her first All-Star game.

"The girls play so well, so wonderful," Yelich said. "It's a great event and it was a lot of fun to be a part of it."