The 29-year-old was on hand to tap in Jill Scott's overhead kick to give Villa the 17th minute lead in Sunday's basement clash.
When German Ramona Petzelberger then steered home the second six minutes later, Villa were on their way to a decisive win, enabling them to move on to 16 points in ninth place out of 12.
In the match of the day, Caroline Weir's superb late goal earned Manchester City a 1-0 win over derby rivals Manchester United.
Weir stepped off the substitutes' bench to chip home the winner from 25 metres to seal Gareth Taylor's side deserved victory and boost their Champions League hopes.
City have closed to within four points of the top three, while they have yet to lose in the WSL to United, who were promoted three years ago.
Weir has now scored in all three of City's home league games against United, including two winners.
Tottenham leapfrogged United into third place after a dominant second-half display in a 2-0 win at bottom club Birmingham.
Ashleigh Neville and Ria Percival were both on target for Tottenham, who climbed to within four points of leaders Arsenal and two behind second-placed Chelsea.
Brighton halted a seven-game winless league run by cruising to a 4-1 victory against Reading, while Leicester also gave themselves a big lift in the relegation fight as they brushed aside West Ham in a 3-0 home win.
