The fifth-seeded Mountaineers (22-8) won their opening game in the tournament for the fifth consecutive year and held the 12th-seeded Orange (18-14) to their third-lowest point total this season.

West Virginia will face fourth-seeded Georgetown in the quarterfinals Sunday.

The Mountaineers closed the first half with a 7-0 run to take a 32-21 lead at the break. Bussie converted back-to-back baskets to spark a 9-4 West Virginia run at the beginning of the second half.

West Virginia shut down Syracuse's two leading scorers. Iasia Hemingway scored nine points, 7.5 points below her average, and Kayla Alexander got four points, 10 below her average.

West Virginia enjoyed a big advantage at the free throw line, making 24 of 33 in the game to 7 of 10 for Syracuse.