Of course! As long as you're not sleazy, it's not a bad idea to be complimentary to anyone you're chatting with, male or female. If you're on a date, certainly you might say early on that you feel proud to be accompanying such a pretty (or fine, or clever, or witty) girl this evening.
Your job is to make her feel valued as a person, as opposed to a convenient 'bit of stuff'; someone you had wanted to spend time with. So saying 'I've been so looking forward to this evening' is a compliment in itself.