Natalija Marshall tried everything before she found basketball.

Growing up, she took up baseball, swimming, gymnastics, dance and tennis. They were “boring” and none of them stuck. In fifth grade, she finally tried basketball, playing recreationally against older kids. By the time she got to eighth grade, Marshall was hooked.

“I really fell in love with it, which is really, really late compared to a lot of other players,” said the Christ the King senior forward. “[Basketball] was kind of the last sport I tried.”

It’s been good to her.

The 6-foot-5 Marshall has turned herself into one of the country’s best players. Ranked 35th nationally in her class by ESPN, she helped lead Christ the King to the New York State Class AA Federation championship last season and she will play in college for Notre Dame, which lost in the national championship game last season. Off the court, she’s mature beyond her years, traveling the world with her parents and using her platform as a star player to be an advocate for equality for the girls game at the youth level.

That, however, is far from enough for her.

Royals coach Bob Mackey has tried his best to give the Forest Hills native the chance to pick the brains of athletes who have succeeded at the highest levels of basketball, including former Christ the King greats Sue Bird and Tina Charles and fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart.

“She’s seen what they’ve done and how they’ve progressed,” Mackey said. “She doesn’t feel she’s at that level yet, which is good. She shouldn’t, but I think she knows she could get to that point.”

Marshall’s parents have been a big help in the process. They never tried to “coach” her, but instead have delivered a level of understanding and advice many parents cannot. They were both collegiate athletes, with her father, David, playing soccer and her mother, Anne, loving basketball before injuries led her to track and field as a shot-putter.

“They always tell me, ‘You’re not that good yet,’ ” said Marshall, who plays her travel ball with Exodus NYC. “Since sixth grade, [they say,] ‘You’re not that good yet.’ So that’s always been in the back of my mind.”

Up next for Marshall is taking up the mantle as Christ the King’s unquestioned leader and star. She had been part of a starting lineup that featured five Division I-bound players, but the other four all graduated.

Marshall is tasked with helping to defend the emotional Federation championship the Royals won in March after falling a win shy of an undefeated season and mythical national championship the year before. They completed the job with heavy hearts after former assistant coach Clare Droesch and longtime trainer Anton Turkovic lost battles with cancer a little less than a year apart. Winning was bigger than basketball for them.

“I think we played for them,” Marshall said. “It was difficult. But I think we learned a lot about each other and I’m so grateful to do it with that group of girls, but we were definitely playing for something bigger than ourselves. I still am.”

This season, that includes needing to do a little bit of everything, on and off the court, for the first time in her career. It’s something Marshall believes she is capable of doing.

She averaged 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game last season. Her size, impeccable timing swatting away shots and passing ability allow her to create opportunities for others on the court, but this time she has to do it as the major focus of opponents’ game plans.

“She can shoot it, but she’s also a really good passer,” Mackey said. “But her stepping out, she opens up the lane. Now you can shoot somebody through and bring the high [post] down and now you create a mismatch.”

Marshall also has a strong interest in helping others do more than merely win games. She is outspoken about the need for equality in women’s sports even at the high school and travel-ball levels, whether it’s media coverage, support, gear or the level of exposure available compared to the boys.

“I just feel like on the girls side, the younger girls are trying to see what opportunities they have, especially at the elite level,” Marshall said. “It’s just not there as much as it is for the boys. So I think that’s a problem.”

When she was picking a college program, Marshall wanted to join one with an all-female coaching staff, something the Irish have under head coach Muffet McGraw, along with a comfort level she didn’t feel anywhere else. The Irish also had a need at her position. Marshall wants to major in gender studies at Notre Dame and use her degree to eventually help close the gap at the youth sports level.

“[She’s a] poised, confident young woman who can speak her mind,” Mackey said. “It’s a good thing.”

“I’ve never had to be the scorer, be the leader, be the captain, be the rebounder, be the [shot] blocker, be our defense, be the team, the jell. … So that’s going to be the challenge.” — Natalija Marshall

Marshall’s mature worldview is aided by the fact that she’s seen much of it during her travels with her parents. Her favorite places have been Paris; Amsterdam; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and this summer’s stop in Santorini, a Greek island. Her family tries to make the trips an experience as much as they are vacations.

“Traveling in itself gives you insight into how other people live, culture, food, stuff like that,” said Marshall, whose hobbies include photography and drawing. “That already happens. Our family is really close. We talk about a lot of stuff that happens around the world. When we go to these places, we make connections.”

Marshall made a special connection with basketball in grammar school and it has helped her get this far as a player and person. Mackey has seen her personality and confidence grow with each year.

She has bigger aspirations starting this season as she prepares to be the centerpiece of everything for Christ the King before heading to South Bend.

“I’ve never had to be the scorer, be the leader, be the captain, be the rebounder, be the [shot] blocker, be our defense, be the team, the jell,” Marshall said. “We have a bunch of new girls coming in, so that’s gonna be the challenge.”

She seems ready.