The film was rolling, and Rae Lin D'Alie felt like she was watching a rerun.

Which probably is because even though she hadn't yet seen this episode, D'Alie had played a starring role in it.

"We're all watching it and I knew it was that possession," the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team's sophomore point guard said. "I'm like, 'Oh, here's the play.' And I don't think anybody else knew, and all of a sudden it happened and all of my teammates are like, 'Ohhh.' "

It was the first time the Badgers' 5-foot-3 playmaker had seen the footage of her breaking her right hand 4 minutes, 49 seconds into UW's 72-56 loss to Wyoming in the championship game of last season's Women's National Invitation Tournament.

And after Sunday's team meeting was over, D'Alie reviewed the film of her collision with Cowgirls' Hanna Zavecz again and "really took a look at it."

"It was weird because as soon as I saw it, I remembered the feeling," she said.

Which would be?

"Physically I was in a lot of pain, but just emotionally, it was hard," said D'Alie, who led the Big Ten Conference in assists last year, becoming just the third freshman to do so. "Knowing that your team goes on this run at the end of the season … and here's your last game of the season. You're about to bring it all, all you have, about to just lay it out on the floor, and (five) minutes into the game you're done."

Which is precisely why D'Alie was the player UW coach Lisa Stone pulled aside this summer after the scheduling had been finalized for tonight's rematch with the Cowgirls in the Badgers' home opener at the Kohl Center.

And while UW (1-1) won't be playing for a championship, it will be facing nearly the same Wyoming (3-0) team that beat it in March -- all five of the Cowgirls' starters are back.

If the Badgers are going to emerge with a win this time around, it will need D'Alie -- and everyone else for that matter -- to take better care of the basketball than in Saturday's 67-53 loss to Marquette.

D'Alie committed a team-high seven turnovers as UW racked up 29 as a team, throwing away any chance at beating the Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Her struggles led to a post-game chat with Stone, with the message being this: Shake it off.

"It bothered her, but she doesn't flinch," Stone said. "She didn't cry about it. She's not weak in that at all. She's mad about it and wants to do something about it."

That's similar to D'Alie's reaction to her injury.

She said while watching the film of last season's final game, she saw herself stomping and cheering from the sidelines with her hand wrapped up in a pretty heavy-duty splint.

"Rae's a pretty self-motivated person," said UW senior guard Janese Banks, D'Alie's offseason workout partner. "She can bounce back from things."

And what better time to bounce back than in a game D'Alie's been waiting nearly eight months for?

"It was heartbreaking, but (I) battled back, rehabbed, you get back in the gym, and you do all that for this opportunity right here, to come back and have the same exact opportunity, to play the exact same team," she said. "It's incredible how it works out."