Like many high school sophomores, Edwardsburg girls basketball player Savannah Dixon comes across as being soft spoken and shy.

But Dixon’s personality changes when youbring up certain topics.

Ask about her height and Dixon wants it to be known she’s taller than 5-foot-3.

“I’m 5-3 and a 1/4,” said Dixon. “And a 1/4.”

She wants everyone to know that lack of height doesn’t mean lack of aggressiveness on the court.

“I’m not scared to go up against bigger girls,” Dixon said.

“I’m feisty.”

That feistiness was on display in the Eddies’ 46-40 season-opener loss to Niles.

Dixon grabbed six rebounds to go with her career-high 17 points. She also showed that she’s not afraid of contact. Dixon scored six of her points from the free-throw line after getting fouled.

That performance was no surprise to Edwardsburg girls basketball coach Nicole Cartwright. As a freshman starter Dixon averaged six points a game and was a second team All-Wolverine Conference selection.

“Savannah is a great player,” said Cartwright. “I knew she was capable of scoring more last year. We just had other people that did it. This year her role is different. She had 17 (against Niles) and stepped up.”

Dixon hopes to be rewarded for her hard work on the court during the offseason.

“I’ve practiced a lot on my dribbling, ball-handling and shooting,” she said. “I have to score more, but I really don’t feel extra pressure to score this year.”

Cartwright is counting on Dixon to improve her on-court communication with teammates.

“She needs to be more vocal,” Cartwright said. “She’s one of our point guards. She’s got to call out the plays and be a leader. Savannah is one of our captains and there’s no doubt in my mind that’s she’ll step up.”

Dixon understands the message that her coach is sending.

“We don’t have a lot of older girls on the team,” Dixon said. “I just have to step up as a sophomore.”

Dixon, who also competes in softball and cross country, feels that better days are ahead for the Edwardsburg girls basketball team. The Eddies regrouped against Niles after committing 13 turnovers in the first quarter. Edwardsburg had only 12 turnovers over the final three quarters and took a 36-35 lead after once trailing 20-9.

“At first (against Niles), we were a little bit shaky,” Dixon said. “Then we got better as the game went along and we meshed better as a team.”

“I think we’ll do better in future games.”