If she had 36 free throw tries and made 75% of them, you would multiply 36 by 0.75. Percentages are really just parts out of 100, so 75 in decimal form would be 0.75 (out of 1.0).
36 x 0.75 = 27 ( the same as 3/4 of 36 )
So, the basketball player made 27 free throws.