Michigan guard Leigha Brown, right, has her shot affected by Louisville’s Kianna Smith during the first half of their Dec. 2 game in Louisville, Ky. (AP file photo)

WICHITA, Kan. — Michigan’s first loss of the season was a doozy.

The Wolverines were blown out 70-48 at Louisville on Dec. 2, their second-largest margin of defeat.

Nearly four months later, Michigan has a chance to avenge that loss on a grand stage. The third-seeded Wolverines (25-6) face the top-seeded Cardinals (28-4) in the women’s Elite Eight tonight with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

Michigan’s players say much has changed since that rough night when the Wolverines committed 24 turnovers and shot 37% from the field.

“It was early on in our season and we were still figuring some things out,” Michigan guard Danielle Rauch said. “Playing at Louisville is a really difficult thing to do. So we definitely were shocked in that situation. But I think we’ve grown a lot since then and gone through a lot of different things throughout this season to prepare us to play them again.”

Michigan’s Naz Hillmon was held to 12 points — nine points under her current average. The first-team All-American said it was the first time she saw such intense defensive pressure.

“We really figured out, you know, if people are doubling and tripling me, how to put people in their best spots to be a contributor to our team and focusing on slowing down the game for us sometimes,” Hillmon said.

The Cardinals also have something to prove, having reached the Final Four three times and the national title game twice but never the championship.

Hillmon is a dynamic interior presence who averages 21.2 points per game on 59% shooting for the season. In three NCAA Tournament games, despite getting extra defensive attention, those numbers have spiked to 22.7 points on 69% shooting.