New York — The Connecticut Sun have a new voice.

Lynetta Kizer has only been with the team for just a few days, but the veteran post has already been making her voice heard. Encouraging her teammates. Cheering for them. Getting them fired up.

And that's just during shootaround.

"I'm bringing some energy, getting my teammates going," Kizer said after Connecticut thumped the New York Liberty's skeleton crew 79-57 on Sunday to finish the WNBA preseason unbeaten at Columbia University's Levien Gymnasium. "We're a young team. We need leadership.

"(Veteran point guard) Jasmine (Thomas) does a great job with it. She's another voice you're going to hear, but you're always going to hear my voice."

Kizer had eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. It was just her third day with Connecticut after arriving late last week having completed her season with Olympiacos Pireus in Greece.

The Sun acquired Kizer in February from the Indiana Fever as part of a three-way trade that also included the Phoenix Mercury. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound post averaged 17.6 minutes and nine points the last two seasons.

Connecticut sent veteran post Camille Little to Phoenix as part of that deal. She, along with Thomas, had been one of the team's leaders as well as their most dependable post. They need someone to fill those roles, and Kizer, a five-year veteran, said she's ready.

"I've had times where I could've led more than others, but I didn't because I personally didn't feel that I was ready," Kizer said. "I feel like I'm ready now. I'm 27 years old. It's my time. It's time to help (Thomas) lead this team."

Curt Miller, Connecticut's head coach and general manager, said, "Lynetta's vocal leadership will be huge for us."

Miller knows what he's going to get from Kizer. Ditto Thomas, who had seven points and four assists in 20 minutes.

Second-year forward Morgan Tuck continued to impress after having season-ending surgery last September for a cartilage tear in her left knee. She had a minor procedure to remove debris on April 7, too. Tuck played 27 minutes Sunday and made 9 of 10 free throws for 20 points with five rebounds.

"Morgan Tuck looked terrific considering she had an operation on April 7," Miller said.

Miller and Connecticut still have many concerns. Starting off-guard Alex Bentley hasn't played yet after spraining her right ankle before camp.

"She went through the pregame warmup (Sunday)," Miller said. "We'll see how sore she is tomorrow. … The good news is that after that first game, we have another week (off), so I've looked at it all along is can we have Alex back to her capabilities on (May 20th at Indiana).

The Sun also need more production from their bench, which struggled for stretches Sunday. They have to cut three players by Friday to get down to the 12-woman roster limit.

"We're a team by committee," Miller said. "We don't have someone like (New York's) Tina (Charles) or (the Atlanta Dream's) Angel McCoughtry. … In a perfect world, we're going to have a lot of players between 15 and 18 points (a night). And if we can do that, then we can compete with these teams with some of the star players that can go get 25 (points) a night.

"Some of our bench is better in the halfcourt then up-and-down. Our second unit is not nearly as athletic as our first unit."

n.griffen@theday.com