MILWAUKEE — Road trips to watch her daughter play basketball are nothing new for Kim Marotta. She jokes that her daughter, Chloe, started playing basketball when she was born.
Now a senior for the Golden Eagles, Chloe and the team are set to play their first game of the NCAA tournament against South Florida on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Greenville, South Carolina. Marquette is a 9-seed in the tournament.
Kim is already on the road and excited to get to Greenville to cheer her daughter on.
"It's almost a dream come true. All those years when she was in grade school and high school and driving to tournaments and traveling across the country, spending summers at all the practices. This is really just a culmination of a dream come true, so we are really excited."
Chloe is the third of four kids. Kim recalls the kids always with a basketball in hand, shooting on the Nerf hoop in the basement. She and her siblings also had plenty of Marquette players to look up to.
"We've been Marquette season ticket holders since way before even I was born," Kim said. "My grandfather played at Marquette, my dad actually played at Marquette, and then obviously Marc played at Marquette," Kim said.
Marc Marotta is Chloe's dad. He played for the Golden Eagles in the '80s. In 2015 he suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm. Chloe now wears the same number as her dad, 52.
"The blue and gold is long and true in our family and we really enjoy everything about Marquette and certainly basketball," Kim said.
She says it's also been special watching her daughter excel and shine a spotlight on women's sports over the years.
"Having a daughter that's involved and helping elevate it and all the young girls that come to the games and watch the team as a role model is just really something you would hope and dream of," Kim said about her daughter's success and influence. "There's so many young kids that come and watch and they have signs, whether it's Chloe's name or Jordan's name, different pictures of everyone on the team. They stand in line for autographs, they make little arts and crafts presents that they bring the women on the team and I just love it."
Kim is hoping for a long post-season run, but since it is Chloe's senior year she knows any game could be the last game.
"I think this is just that you gotta go out big and give it your all and do everything you possibly can because this is what you worked for and now's the time. I hope it's going to be a long run. I hope we have a whole bunch more games to watch, but no matter what we'll be cheering and we'll be excited and proud," Kim said.
Marquette is having a send-off for the team Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center on Campus. For information on how to watch the tournament, visit ncaa.com.
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