96 Contour won't start

Hey Guys, My girlfriend has a 1996 Ford Contour and it won't turn over for her. She says that it makes a clicking noise everytime you try to turn it over. She also said something about a few of the gauges went crazy. I think it might either be the alernator or starter. Anyone have any ideas? Let me know, thanks

Id say alternator. Her battery is probably very weak since is why the starter just ticks.

I leased a brand new focus a few years ago, and 2 weeks after having it, I was driving down the highway and everything in the car went dead. The guages just plummeted and went to zero. The car still ran while I was driving down the highway for a couple minutes, but then you could tell the engine was having a hard time, probably since the injectors werent firing and it eventually just rolled to a stop. Took it to the dealership and it was a bad alternator and consequently, it toasted the battery.