I am 5’3” and started out with a Buell Blast. I never once dropped it. I have dropped every bike I have owed since even though they have all been lowered. Too much front brake and a slightly turned wheel always caused my first drops. Luckily now most of my drops are in the dirt but my poor GS is starting to hate me.
I don’t think starting out on a smaller bike is necessarily going to stop the drops when they transfer to a larger bike but I do think they would have a lot less anxiety about it.